Buried in the Sand
by WingedArcher1
Summary: The war with Bern has ended. To many this would be a time for celebration, but not for a certain red clad swordmaster and purple eyed valkyrie. But after a tear filled goodbye, they both find themselves in the Nabata Desert for different reasons. But things are never that easy, troubles will abound as the two try to find their place in the world. Who knows, maybe it'll be together?
1. Prologue

**A/n- There will be no set time for chapter updates on this story, they'll just go up when I feel like it. Other than that, I know Rutger is probably a bit OOC in this part, but he's emotional in it so cut him some slack. Hopefully you'll like it and I can continue.**

Hidden in the Sand Prologue

It's been a month since the war with Bern ended. Lord Eliwood in his infinite kindness decided to hold a celebration in Pherae for whomever of the Lycian Alliance Army wanted to come. Just about everyone came, even a brooding, red clad swordmaster and a kind if not mouthy Etrurian noble. The swordsman was staying secluded, watching everyone as he usually did, but he couldn't help but let his eyes gaze towards the girl. She had become one of the only people he considered a friend during the war, but he could see the looks in her eyes. She wanted him to be hers, wanted him to come home with her so she could supposedly be happy. But he couldn't do that to her, even if he may feel the same way. She was young and didn't quite understand that's not how things worked. Besides, he had some soul searching to do within himself. Revenge is only good when you have someone to fight, but when that reason leaves what do you do next? With these thoughts in mind he decided to slip out of the castle and into the night. Too bad for him, someone had seen him.

"Were you seriously going to leave without at least dancing with me once?" A voice he knew too well called out as he left the dining hall. He mentally cursed himself for his lack of stealth and turned around to face her.

"I was considering it." He said not changing his expression, but she could tell that he was being serious. She walked up closer to him and looked him in the eyes.

"Rutger, while I admit that you doing that would probably be something you'd do in the past, I would think you'd know differently by now. Either that or something is wrong with you." She said confidently as always. She wasn't wrong though, he did know better and something was wrong. So without a word he grabbed her hand and led her outside of the castle until they were out in the moonlight with no one around.

"Clarine, I need to tell you something." Rutger said awkwardly. He'd never had to tell a girl something like this, even before the war. Clarine on the other hand was taking this the wrong way, even though she couldn't be blamed for it. To anyone else Rutger's actions would look like he was about to confess, but Rutger wasn't one for realizing things like that. So when she started to hug him and get all happy, it made him feel even worse.

"Yes, of course you can come back to Etruria with me and Klein." She said thinking that's what he was going to say. "Oh you're going to love it there, the food is great, the people are great, and you can help me in protecting the land when the time comes. Of course we're going to have to do something about your clothes, maybe trim that hair a bit, but-" Rutger cut her off as he got one of his arms out of the hug and placed a finger on her mouth.

"That's not what I was going to say." He said calmly as he could with her arms around him and her body so close to his. "In fact, it's the opposite of what you have in mind." Clarine let him go and looked at him with a confused expression.

"What are you talking about Rutger? I thought that you felt the same way I did?" She asked him and that's when he knew that this wasn't going to end up well. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes as he broke the news.

"I do, but that's the problem. I can't be with you. I'm not like you. I'm not a noble and I barely even know the first thing about being one. I'd be an embarrassment, not only to myself, but to you as well. So no, I'm not going to Etruria with you, I can't." The words shocked and confused Clarine. She thought he would jump at the chance to come with her and live that life. But she wasn't done trying to convince him yet.

"Okay then I'll go with you wherever you go. I'm sure I could adjust to living a life on the plains. I assume that's where you're heading back too?" She asked hoping this tactic would work.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know where I'm going. And I couldn't do that to you. You have so much you can do to help people, more than I ever could. You belong in Etruria, you're kind, strong willed, and experienced because of this war. You're too important to waste all that on someone like me." Rutger said back to her. And that's truly how he felt at that moment. He could see that his words had started to make her cry and he hated himself for it. So it was him this time who hugged her. "You're going to go on to do great things Clarine, and you're going to forget all about me in no time."

"But I don't want to forget about you, I-I love you!" Clarine sobbed loudly into his robes and he pulled back so he could look at her.

"Don't you think you might be a little too young to understand what love is?" He asked, not to patronize her, but to be realistic.

"I-I'm going to be 16 in a month you know." She sobbed in defeat and she stepped away from him a bit. "Not that it really matters."

"I'm sorry, I really am Clarine. If this was any other situation I would enjoy being with you, but I can't." Rutger said more for himself this time than for Clarine. After that they just stood there in silence for a bit until Clarine heard the faint sound of music coming from the castle.

"Can I at least have the dance?" She asked Rutger and he responded by taking her hand in his and placing the other on her back.

"It would be my pleasure." He answered and even thought he had never formally danced, his natural grace and agility helped him not step on her toes. After a while Clarine rested her head on his chest as he just rocked back and forth.

"I wish this would never end." She said forlornly, still having a slight sob in her voice. Rutger didn't answer but he felt the same way. It was way too soon, but the music finally stopped and they let go of each other. Rutger knew he had to leave, but he was finding it hard to do so.

"Close your eyes." He told Clarine and she was about to question it before he glared at her and she shut her mouth. "I'll be gone before you know it, but here's something to remember me by." He knew he probably shouldn't have, but he did it anyways. He quickly kissed her on the lips and then ran as fast as he could into the woods. Clarine just stood there in shock for a few moments before she started walking back to the castle. She made it all the way to the main hall before she fell over from grief and started crying her eyes out. There were go guards around because of the celebration, but she did get the attention of someone who came over to see what was wrong.

"Lady Clarine, is something the matter?" It was Lord Eliwood of all people, wandering the halls for some reason or another.

"What do you think?!" She yelled before seeing who it was. When she did she stood up and started stuttering. "I, um, I mean. L-Lord Eliwood."

"Calm down, I'm not upset. I saw you were in distress so I don't put it against you. What seems to be the matter?" He said helping her up to her feet.

"My whole world just crashed around me in an instant, and I don't know what to do." She told him and Eliwood was calm as always.

"Might this have something to do with, the young man you left the castle with?" He asked.

"You saw us?" Clarine asked in disbelif.

"I saw him leave and you follow him, nothing else." Eliwood stated. "I take it he didn't return your feelings?"

"No, he said that he felt the same but couldn't be with me because he's not a noble." Clarine answered giving him the short version. This confused Eliwood quite a bit. _Did she really not tell him about it?_ He thought to himself before he made a decision that would help the situation out immensely.

"I have some information you might want to know."


	2. A Parent's Test

**A/n- I was debating who should be followed first and figured Clarine would have more interactions than Rutger would.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 1

When Clarine finally got back home to Etruria a few weeks later she was firm and determined to find out what Lord Eliwood said about Rutger and his mother was true. She didn't quite believe him when he said it, but with the confidence he had in his words it gave her a glimmer of hope.

_"I don't think he knows this, but his mother was a noble in Caelin for a short while. I don't know why exactly she wouldn't tell him something like that, but I know for certain that it's the truth." _His words rang in her head as she went to Etruria's best libraries and scholars to find the truth. The problem was that since her problem didn't really involve anyone important from Etruria, she couldn't find any information. So she had to go to the smartest person she knew, her father. She doubted that he would know anything, but it was worth a shot. He was quite the busy man still, but he always had time for tea with her mother, and that's where she found him.

"Ah Clarine, I've been wondering where you've been." He said as he got up from his chair to come over and give her a hug. "Ever since you've been back I've barely seen you. Though I've heard rumors that you've been spotted with your head in a book multiple times, trying to follow after me I see." He was joking of course, he didn't know why she was acting so differently, but he was more curious than anything.

"Well, I've always looked up to you and mother, but actually I've come to see you for a different reason." Clarine answered him.

"I see. Well, why don't you join me and your mother and you can tell us over a nice cup of tea." He offered and Clarine nodded in acceptance. Her mother greeted her and then they got to talking. Clarine started from the beginning and her parents listened intently, nodding and sipping their tea as they did. They didn't laugh at her and they didn't belittle her either, they were genuinely concerned.

"And now I can't find any information that proves Lord Eliwood is correct. I know it's probably a selfish endeavor, but now I truly want to know, not just because I want to change his mind." She said to finish off her story. She was slightly out of breath after that and her father let her get it back before he spoke again.

"You certainly are determined on this subject, I can see it in your eyes. In fact, I think this might be the first time I've seen something like this from you, and it kinda makes me proud, seeing that I raised a young woman who knows what she wants and is willing to do whatever is needed to get it. So, this is what I'm going to do, I'm not going to flat out tell you the information, but I will tell you where to find it." He said. It was true he was impressed, but he wanted to see Clarine follow through on her desires. It would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would be a good leader in the future.

"I knew I should have gone to you first father, you've always been the smartest person I know. But if I may ask, how did you come across this information?" She was curious as well, because this story was getting more interesting by the second.

"Well, if I'm thinking of the same woman Lord Eliwood is, I fought alongside her more than 20 years ago, back when I was the Mage General. She was one of our best fighters, but she always knew there was a possibility that she could die in battle. So she had me copy the proof of her nobility for any next of kin she had. Silly me though, I left it in the Nabata desert by accident. When she married our army's tactician and moved to the plains I figured it would be best if it stayed there, but I guess it needs to be found." He answered, in turn telling her where she needed to go.

"So, I need to go to the Nabata Desert and find what exactly?" Clarine asked.

"One of my journals should have the document you need. I heard Roy's army headed through there during this last war, very close to where the hideout should be. Now I know it's a bit dangerous there, would you like someone to accompany you?"

"No, I'd rather do this myself. It'll prove that I did it on my own strength and will. I'll start preparing for the trip right away. Thank you father, and you too mother for listening to my words, you always know how to cheer me up." Clarine said before hugging her parents and then running off to do so.

"You really think she's going to find it Pent?" Louise asked as she exited.

"If she tries hard enough, yes I do Louise. The question is, will Etruria be ready for a half Sacean, half Bernese noble?" Pent countered.

"Well, they accepted me didn't they?"

"Touche." Meanwhile Clarine was rushing down the halls when she almost ran into her brother Klein in her excitement.

"Whoa, where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked a bit amused. So Clarine stopped to answer him.

"I'm off to the Nabata Desert in search for some answers to my problems, father told me I should look there." She said still excited, but all Klein did was sigh, thinking it was just the same old Clarine.

"Sister, do you truly believe that this will be of any use to you? What if this is just a big waste of time, like all the other times you were so excited about things and then gave up?" He asked being realistic.

"Because, this time I'm determined to find the answers, whether I like the outcome or not. You're always saying I should work for what I want and not expect it to be handed to me, so that's what I'm doing." Clarine countered confidently.

"And if you go through all this trouble and he still refuses you?" Klein asked, knowing what all this was about.

"Then he's obviously not worth my time and I'll find someone who appreciates my efforts." Clarine said, but this time her confidence betrayed her. She was a bit scared of the possibility that he would reject her again after her hard work, but she couldn't think of that now or she'd never leave.

"Well, at least let me come with you." Klein said being somewhat convinced.

"Sorry, but no. I have to do this myself or no one will take me seriously, I think you'd understand that." Clarine told him.

"I do, and I respect your wishes. But if you do get into trouble, Tate and I are only one letter away."

"I know, and thank you." And with that she ran off again to get ready.

"When did she change so much?"


	3. A Swordmaster's Plan

**A/n- Nothing much to say except, yes they can be his parents, I've done the research. Oh, and I know game mechanics wise that some of his thoughts shouldn't be able to co-exist, but for this they can. Let's just say he got the A support with Karel sometime after the last battle. **

Buried in the Sand Chapter 2

After Rutger left Clarine standing there in the Pheraen castle courtyard he fled back to the plains of his birth. He didn't go back to Bulgar, he wasn't ready for that yet, but he did find a place to stay with a Kutolah tribe for the time being. During that time he was still closed off to most everyone, he needed time to think about what he would do with Bern out of the way. More than once Karel's words about being able to hear the plains call out to him came to mind. It reminded him of a similar thing his mother used to say to him.

_"No matter where you go or what you do, you'll know where home is because of your heart. If you heart isn't there you won't be happy. Just be sure wherever you end up to keep your pride for your heritage, the plains may disappear someday, but they'll live on in you."_

Remembering those words helped him to decide what he was going to do. It may not be the greatest plan, but at least he would give it an effort. If his home was destroyed, he would find a new one for himself with his heart as the guide. And he would help people along the way if he could, because that's what his parents would want him to do. There was one slight hitch with this plan at the moment though.

_I can't escape the feeling that I get when I think of her. She out of all the other people I met made me want to feel better and laugh. Why in the name of Mother Earth, Father Sky, and St. Elimine did we have to be so close, knowing nothing could come of it. What if I run into her in my travels? How am I going to react? I can't think this way or I'll never move on._ Those were just some of the thoughts he had before finally deciding on a path in life. He would become a mercenary, but not a normal one. He would wander from place to place, secretly helping people as he saw fit, only accepting rewards if the victims could find him, which was very rare. Along the way he would meet people, study them, see if he fit in and how his heart felt. A few weeks later he was in a tavern between Etruria and the Nabata desert having a drink when he started to over hear a discussion next to him.

"You hear about what's happening out in the desert? Apparently there are a group of bandits harassing tourists and going even so far as to kill them. I was thinking about going out there with the family, but not now. That along with the sandstorm season kicking up, we'd have a better chance in Sacae." Rutger flinched at his prodding of his homeland, but he had trained himself not to react violently to it.

"That can't be true, wouldn't the bodies be seen by anyone who passed by?" The other man asked the first.

"There is quicksand out in that desert, just throw the body in there and then wait for it to sink. You'd think that the legendary 'Guardian' of the desert would have taken care of them by now."

"Maybe something happened to them, or maybe the group is just too much for one person to handle." That's all Rutger needed to hear. He placed some gold on the table for his drinks and started to head out to the desert. It took him two days to get there and in the dead of night he spied out the bandit camp. To be sure it was quite large, but he found confidence in all the messily organized axes laying about. He decided that the next day he would attack. So he checked his equipment, an iron sword along with a silver one in case it was harder than he thought in might be. He also ended up keeping Durandal after the war, he figured that he was the only one who could use it anyway, but he kept that in his saddlebag, saving it for only the most dire situations. He woke early the next morning, it would put the bandits of guard, and snuck as close as he could to the camp. He knew as soon as he made his first strike they would all be on him so he wanted to make it count. So he got up behind two and with a wide swing cut both of their backs open. As they fell they let out a yell and that alerted the rest of the group that he was there.

"Mercenary! Intruder!" Some of them yelled as he made his way through the camp, picking off people as he made his way to the center. By the time he got there only ten stood gathered against him. He couldn't quite make out who was the leader though. The wind started to pick up and the sand started to blow as he swiftly made his way into the group. It was way too easy for him, like most jobs were. These bandits were amateurs at best and only a few lasted more than a blow before they either gave up or died. When the last one fell Rutger took a heavy breath, the sand was whipping even harder now and the wind was blowing his hair into his face. But he wasn't done yet. One last man came out from a tent to see what was going on.

"Wow, what a mess. Did you do this?" He asked Rutger. Well he assumed that he was the one being asked the question since he was the only one standing. "Who are you, and what business do you have here?" Rutger guessed this was the bandit leader. He had a sword on his belt and it looked like he at least knew how to use it well. He stood straight before speaking, maybe this would actually be a good fight.

"I am Rutger, son of Lyndis and Mark, last survivor of the Lorca tribe. I'm here to stop you and your group of bandits from terrorizing the good people who want to see the desert's beauty." He said confidently. "Stand down or the last thing you'll see is sand."

"Now, now, you've got it all wrong boy. We aren't terrorizing the people, we're protecting them from this so called 'Guardian.' In fact, she keeps killing off my men from time to time, maybe if we team up we can stop her." The leader said. Rutger could barely make out the last words though because the wind was getting so terrible that he could barely stand still.

"Do you think me a fool!" He had to yell to get his point across. "I've met the Guardian of the Desert and she would not attack people who we're here to appreciate the desert. Now draw your blade, this ends now!" And with that he tried his best to dash at the bandit leader. But with the wind, sand, and his somewhat good skill, he ended up blocking his blade and locking them together.

"I warned you, guess I'll have to take care of you like the others." The leader said as he took a step back and tried to thrust his sword at Rutger's chest. He dodged barely, the sand was getting into his throat and lungs and it was slowing him down. He swung again at the man and they locked blades again.

_This sandstorm is getting to be too much for the both of us, if I don't leave now I'm not going to make it back to Etruria in one piece._ The bandit leader thought before he got an idea. He feined a sword strike making Rutger dodge while simultaneously kicking sand in his eyes. Rutger staggered back holding his eyes with one hand and swinging his sword with the other. The bandit took no time to sink into the sand storm unnoticed and when Rutger got his vision back he was no where to be seen.

"You coward!" He yelled into the sandstorm, but it came out choked. He was gasping for air and knew that he had to get out of the storm soon. The trouble was he didn't know what the shortest distance was out since all the footprints had been blown away. So he put his robes over his mouth and started walking in a straight line. Or at least he tried to, the wind kept blowing him off course and the sand looked all the same to him. His robes only gave him the slightest of protection as well and he could feel the sand going down his throat. After what felt like hours he fell to his knees, not able to go on any longer.

_Not like this, please not like this._ He pleaded inside his mind. _This isn't a honorable way to go. Mother, Father, I guess I'm going to see you sooner than I thought._ And with that he passed out on the sand. The last thing he remembered was a familiar voice yelling above him.

"Oh Elimine, it is him!"


	4. Coincidence? What's That?

**A/n- Time for a guessing game (If anyone's up for it). From the context clues given in this chapter who did Erk A support in this universe? Other than that enjoy the chapter.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 3

Clarine was standing at the edge of the Nabata desert, just taking in the view. The last time she was here she was fighting for Roy's army and didn't have time to stop and enjoy it. Though she wasn't by herself, her father convinced her to bring an escort, one he knew he could trust to protect her if needed.

"Thank you for taking me this far Erk, I hope I wasn't too much of a hassle on the way here." Clarine said after she looked over the land.

"Not at all, you are far from the worse person I've escorted somewhere. When we ride back to Etruria I'll tell you some of the horror stories." The purple haired sage replied. He was a well trusted magic teacher in Etruria and he was one of the people who helped train Clarine in her skills.

"I'll take you up on that I think." Clarine said with a smile. "May I ask you something though? What do you think of me doing this?"

"I think that if you don't it'll bother you for the rest of your life." Erk answered simply. "And this is a good chance to prove yourself, not only to your father but your people as well. Now, do you need anything else milady?"

"I think I'm good, thank you. If I'm not back by the end of the month come find me okay? And take good care of James too." James was the name of her horse. She knew from experience that she would be better off without him in the desert.

_"Are you sure you want to take your steed into the desert? They tend to not do well." _Clarine was thinking back to what Rutger said the first time they were here.

_"Of course, I go everywhere with James. Besides, if we leave him here we'd just have to come back and get him. What's that look for, I can name my horse whatever I want."_

_"It's nothing, I'm just impressed with your loyalty to him. I've never had a relationship like that with an animal."_

That was one of the first signs that he was really opening up to her. After that they would have conversations like that from time to time, and then more regularly. Then they got longer, and then even Roy was starting to realize something was up between them. Clarine was so certain that it would blossom into a relationship, but alas it didn't turn out that way. Yet, she had to remind herself.

"Are you alright? Is the sun getting to you?" Erk asked snapping her out of her thoughts. She shook her head to clear it and answered.

"Just thinking about him, kinda makes me zone out sometimes."

"I completely understand, the same thing used to happen to me. Well, I'll leave you to it. Meet me at the inn we stayed at when you're done." Clarine nodded and Erk rode off back towards the town they had settled in. When he was out of sight she turned back to the desert.

"Well, no time to waste I guess. Though my hair is going to be a mess when I get back." She said as she started to walk in, staff in one hand, Elfire tome in the other, and a satchel full of food, water, and vulneraries on her shoulder. The sand and wind was calm for now but she knew that could easily change. After she walked for a few hours she could start to see some buildings, and that distracted her so much she barely saw the arrow that landed in front of her.

"Halt! Go no further!" She heard a female voice yell from far away. "State your business here."

"Um, my name is Clarine and I'm looking for something that belongs to my father." She said nervously as she looked around. And then from the sand she saw a blonde haired lady in red holding a bow come towards her. She opened her tome in preparation and the woman spoke again.

"Do not attack, I am not going to harm you." The woman said and when she got closer Clarine saw that she looked familar. "We have met before, in the Lycian Army."

"We have?" Clarine asked confused. "I'm sorry, but I'm kinda drawing a blank. You look familiar but I don't quite remember you."

"That is understandable, we didn't speak much." The woman said. "But to refresh your memory I am Igrene, Guardian of the Nabata desert and since the war Arcadia as well."

"Well it's nice to meet you again Igrene, you're a pretty good shot with your bow." Clarine said extending her hand for a shake.

"I have to be with all the sand blowing around. I could have hit you, but I always give a warning first to make sure. Speaking of that, we should head for some safety, there are some bandits about and there is about to be a sandstorm, and a bad one at that." Igrene said after she accepted the shake.

"How can you tell?" Clarine asked curiously.

"You live in the desert long enough you learn to tell or you die quickly. And my father showed me a thing or two as well. We should hurry, I'd say it's about an hour or two away." So the two hurried as fast as they could into the settlement in the sand. It looked just as beautiful and peaceful as it was before and Clarine couldn't help but wonder at it again.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to be here?" She asked suddenly thinking of the thought.

"If you're with me you should be fine." Igrene answered her and that was good enough for now. They went into one of the buildings to hide from the storm and she started to ask questions. "So, you said you were searching for something of your father's. Did he send you out here?"

"Sort of. I need the thing to help a friend and he told me it was out here in a hideout he used to work out of." Clarine answered. "Do you by any chance know anything about where it might be?"

"Well of course I do, my father used to work very closely with yours many years ago. The hideout you seek is not too far from Arcadia, maybe an hour or so. But we have some problems. The bandits are too much for me to handle and their camp is right where the hideout is." Igrene said, but her lips curled up into a smile when she thought of something. "Though with the two of us I'm sure we could take care of them." Clarine wasn't expecting to have to fight, but she did have a tome on her and it was the only way to progress on her path.

"I guess I can help out." She said tentatively. "Do you want to do it soon?"

"After a sandstorm is the best time to attack." Igrene explained. "So we can have a meal and then head out. You're not picky are you?" She knew Clarine was a noble because of her father, so she wanted to be sure.

"Not at all. As long as the food is fresh I'll eat it." So with that they enjoyed a good meal with the wind and sand whipping outside. They chatted as much as they could, mostly about their fathers, and it was somewhat enjoyable. Both women learned more about the other and gained some respect. After that Igrene stocked up on arrows and Clarine found a Thunder tome laying around in case she needed to be more speedy in battle. They walked to the outskirts of Arcadia and they could see the sandstorm receding into the deeper parts of the desert.

"Are you ready?" Igrene asked and Clarine was about to say yes when she looked out and saw something staggering out in the desert. It was reddish and looked like a person. _Could it be him? No, why would Rutger be out here in the desert?_

"Do you see that out there? I think it's a person. I'm going to go out and help them." Clarine said as he protective healer side came out and she started to run after them.

"No wait! It could be a trap!" Igrene yelled but it didn't matter, Clarine was off and wasn't going to be stopped. While she was running the figure fell over and she quickened her pace as much as she could. When she got there she confirmed that it was a human but they were face down in the sand. She rolled them over and received a shock.

"Oh Elimine, it is him." It was Rutger, passed out and with his robe over his mouth, but she could tell from the eyes it was him. "Rutger, Rutger, are you okay?" She asked and he didn't respond. "I have to get you out of here." She had no idea how he go here or what was wrong with him, but she tried to stand him up. She was having trouble until Igrene caught up and helped her out.

"You know this man?" She asked not completely sure about what was going on.

"This is the friend I'm trying to help out. I don't know why he's here, but he doesn't look good. Is he going to make it?" Clarine answered very concerned for his safety.

"It depends on how much sand he's inhaled and how good a healer you are. And maybe a bit of luck as well."


	5. Warm Feelings

**A/n- Shout out to Lina5371 who guessed correctly that it was Priscilla that Erk ended up with in this universe. The clue was that he was a magic teacher and her's is the only ending that specifies that he has that position.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 4

Time felt like it had no meaning for Rutger and all he could see was darkness all around him. He felt the strange sensation that he was laying on his back, but he couldn't be sure. He used to think that he was comfortable being alone with only his thoughts but this was just strange to him.

_Am I dead? I don't feel like l am. But how is that possible, I was out there in the sand myself. Is this what happens when you die, just laying here in darkness? I would think it would be more pleasant than this. _It was a that point that he could faintly hear voices, they were like echoes and he could barely make them out.

"He has to make it, I'm going to make sure of it." The first voice said. It sounded like Clarine to him, but he figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

"I've seen this many times before." A wiser voice answered the first. "Only one person has survived something like this."

"Well he's going to be the second." The Clarine like voice countered. "He is one of the strongest people I've ever met and he won't go down without a fight." This voice was determined but it also was comforting to him. That was the last thing he heard though before his thoughts fell back into the darkness. The next time he came up from the darkness he didn't hear anything, but he felt something instead. Something warm was wrapped around his chest and arms, if he still had those that is. It reminded him of when his mother used to hold him when he was younger and if this was what this darkness was going to be like he might not of minded too much. But all too soon the warm feeling went away and he felt cold. But every once in a while the feeling would come back and comfort him. Eventually he got used to the routine of it coming and going, but something kept nagging at him. It was that voice that sounded like Clarine. It kept coming back as well, usually when the warm feelings came as well.

"You're going to be okay, I'll make sure of it. I really wish you would wake up. I hope this isn't too awkward for you." Those were just some of the things it would tell him. They always sounded confident and soothing but eventually they got more desperate.

"They all think I'm crazy, staying with you like this, thinking that you can hear me. But I know you can, I know you're fighting to wake up as hard as you can. And when you do, I have a surprise for you." It was at that moment that he decided that he had to fight this darkness. Someone out there was taking care of him and was worried. So when the warm feelings went away he tried to see if he could feel or move his extremities. He felt a finger move on his left hand and he tried to ball it up into a fist. He could but then the energy in his 'body' gave out and his mind fell back into the darkness. The next time it came up he tried to ball his fist again and it came to him more easily. He could move his toes as well and he could feel a heavy weight all around. While he was doing this the voice came back and sounded excited.

"Come look! His hands are moving!" It exclaimed. But before anything else could be heard the darkness called his mind once again. Then suddenly he woke up and shot out of whatever bed he was laying in.

"Gah!" Was the first sound that came out of his mouth. He was very disorientated to say the least and his body felt like he was carrying a load of bricks within it. It took him a moment to realize that he was only in his pants and was quite cold as well. He quickly scanned the room and saw his robes and sword hanging on the chair next to his bed. Nothing explained to him where he was and he didn't want to be here much longer to be honest. So as quickly as he could he put his robes on, grabbed his sword, and exited the buliding he was in. Outside the house he didn't recognize a thing and therefore couldn't even tell if he was in Elibe still or not. For all he knew this could be some dying dream he was having. It was a cool and breezy night and he knew he could use this to his advantage to sneak around. He kept close to walls and shadows and kept scanning the area to see if he could figure out where he was. But he wasn't paying too much attention to what was right in front of him and he bumped into someone.

"Elfire!" The person yelled and Rutger swiftly dodged out of the way, but just barely. He didn't give a second though and dashed at the figure right after he landed. In one step his sword was out but on the second he saw who it was who shot the fire spell at him. Blonde hair, purple eyes, even in the low light he could tell it was Clarine. This was a serious problem though because he was two steps away from slicing her in half. He used the first step to drop his sword and the last one to pull back his speed so he wouldn't tackle her as hard.

"Oof." Was the only sound that came out of Clarine's mouth as Rutger ran into her. Obviously they both fell over and started rolling on the ground because of the momentum Rutger had. They came to a rest with Rutger on top right next to a palm tree and a few short breaths were shared between them before words were spoken.

"What kind of nerve you must have to attack a woman from behind like that!" Clarine said hitting Rutger, she didn't know it was him because his hair was in his face and she didn't really expect him to be up and moving. "Now get off me before I scream and the whole of Arcadia comes out to help me."

"Well, that's not the welcome I was expecting." Rutger said with a grin as he moved his hair out of his eyes. That made Clarine's eyes light up and she hugged him tightly, even if he was already all over her.

"You're finally awake!" She exclaimed to go along with the hug and her heart started beating faster as she looked in to his brown eyes and started to realize that she had so much to tell him. "And even though I'm really enjoying being this close to you, we really do need to talk. You will not believe what I've learned since we last met."

"Can't we just talk out here where it's nice and cool?" _And where the moonlight is making you sparkle. _Rutger wanted to add, but his mind was already telling him not to get too attached to her again.

"Nope." Clarine answered with a grin. "A surprise of this magnitude deserves dignity to be told correctly. And maybe some food, I'm sure you're hungry after all this time."

"Yeah, I kinda am." Rutger said rolling off of her. He was fibbing of course, he was starving, but he didn't want to worry her. But something she said made a lot of things click for him.

_"A surprise." "I have a surprise for you." _He blinked a few times letting it sink in before having one thought.

_She saved my life._


	6. The Intersection of Plans

**A/n- Not much to say here. But how am I doing with this story? What's good? What's bad? Tell me, even if it's negative. I may try to defend my thoughts on characterization, but I'm open to discussion.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 5

"So how long was I out for?" Rutger asked between bites of food. He was eating fast but still using manners and that impressed Clarine a bit.

"About two weeks." She answered. "It was a bit touch and go there for a while, but I knew you would pull through. It felt like I was the only one who thought you would though, it was tough and I almost gave into the thought you might be asleep for good too." All the feelings of the last two weeks came back as she talked about it, the desperate struggle to stabilize him, the looks of some of the people that thought she was crazy, the elation of seeing progress, and then of course the surprise of him tackling her out of nowhere. It was a lot to take in though, so she wouldn't dump all of it on him now, not when she already had big news to give him.

"I am so grateful you didn't." Rutger told her as he put down his fork and looked into her eyes. "You saved my life because of your actions." He couldn't look at her for long though because during the walk back to the house he had been sleeping in he started to fell guilty.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Clarine asked as she could see he wasn't feeling like he should. "You know you can tell me anything." She was right, and he knew she deserved an answer from him.

"I feel guilty." He started slowly. "You did all of this stuff, obviously because you still have feelings for me, and I know in my heart I still can't give you what you want, even if I still want it as well. I just keep thinking that if you just left me out there it would have saved us a whole lot of trouble." Clarine was used to hearing his blunt words, but she was still a bit shocked by what he said. But she did have a solution to his feelings though. She got up and moved her chair next to his and looked him in the eyes this time.

"Yes, it's true that everything I felt back in Pherae still holds true, I wasn't even that mad that you left me there to start crying. But you can't think that way. Even if I didn't have feelings for you I would have tried my best to try and bring you back." She was going to continue but Rutger looked away again and spoke up too quickly.

"And it wouldn't have worked. You know what brought me back, when you were so desperate to have me back it tore me up inside that darkness I was in and it made me want to fight it back. You saved my life because you're in love with me." There was silence for a few moments after he said that. Clarine had no idea that he had heard what she had said on that day where she was about to give up on him.

"Rutger," She said softly as she turned his head back gently so he would look at her again. "I guess you're right, I did go a little far because of how I feel. But I still don't think you have to be guilty, because I know something you don't. Something that will make most of our problems go away."

"And what is that?" He asked still not convinced. Though part of his mind wanted to grab her head and kiss her again since she was so close.

"You're mother was a noble." Clarine simply stated, but Rutger didn't know how to process it. First he thought she was joking, but that would be a horrible thing to joke about, especially with the conversation they had been having. So it must have been true, but he couldn't believe it because his mother never even hinted at such a thing. So he remained neutral as he asked a question that would get to the heart of the matter.

"What proof of this do you have?" He asked. It said that he was open to the possibility but needed to see it to believe the truth. Clarine, expecting a little bit of a better response, sat back in her chair to compose herself before answering.

"Well, I don't have it yet." She settled on. "That's actually why I'm here. My father had a secret hideout out in the desert and in that hideout he said there is proof that your mother Lyn was a Caelin noble and that technically you are the marquess if you so chose to be. I would probably have it by now, but you know you came along. And there are bandits out there too."

"Not anymore there aren't." Rutger said with a wry smile. And Clarine just stared at him. "What, you think I'm going to go through a life threatening situation without bringing a few people with me? I heard in a tavern a few weeks ago about bandits in the Nabata desert and decided to take care of it."

"You're kidding me right? Not the taking out the bandits part, you could do that in your sleep, but you just happened to hear about them in a tavern? What have you been doing since we parted ways?" It was an awkward attempt to find out since she practically told him what she had been doing.

"Just a few mercenary jobs here and there, helping people out that needed it." Rutger answered humbly. There wasn't much more to tell really. But for the second time that night Clarine was impressed with his morality.

"You are amazing, you know that?" She asked a bit in awe. "Go fight a war to save the world and then keep helping people, I wish I could have done that."

"It's nothing really." He replied. "I meditated on what Karel told me during the war and owned up to what I was doing with my life. I thought about what my parents would have wanted me to do and since they always did what they could to help people, I decided I should to. And if that means I get to fight, well that's just a plus."

"I wish I could have met your parents." Clarine said sighing before realizing what she had said might have been really rude. She covered her mouth and Rutger kinda just shook his head in amusement.

"Don't worry, I still get sad about them, I even still have nightmares, but I've realized that I need to talk about it to really move on. And since I trust you the most you might as well know. My mother was the most graceful woman you would ever meet and my father was very smart, if not a bit eccentric."

"I think I can relate to that." Clarine said with a chuckle as she thought of her own father. So Rutger told her a few stories about his time as a child as they continued to eat and it was very enjoyable. He even smiled a few times and it made her blush when he did. But eventually he got tired of talking. "So you're saying through all that, you've never been interested in anyone?"

"Not until you came along. It's a weird feeling, but I kinda like it. Anyways, I am super tired and I think I need to sleep. And I promise I'll get up in the morning." With that he tried to get up from the chair. He did, but his legs felt like rubber and he couldn't take a step forward.

"Here, I'll help you." Clarine said as she slung his arm around her shoulder and walked him over to the bed.

"Thanks, I must be more worn out than I thought."

"Don't worry, I know you're still a bit weak from the sand, and I'll still keep helping you out." Clarine assured him and he smiled meekly in response. They walked into the bedroom of the house and Rutger thought of something.

"Whose house is this?" He asked as he sat on the bed and took off his robes.

"Remember Igrene? 'Guardian of the Desert' and all that? She keeps this house for guests, I've got my stuff in the next room over." Clarine answered and that satisfied him. He realized something though, and as he laid down in the bed and Clarine started to walk away he asked about it?"

"Aren't you tired as well?" He asked and she turned around to face him.

"Yeah, I was just about to go to bed as well." Clarine answered with a yawn.

"Well then why are you walking out of the room? Aren't you going to join me?"

"Wait a second." Clarine said stopping in her tracks. "You, you knew that I was sleeping with you?"

"Not exactly, but from what I've gathered I assumed it was you." Rutger answered her.

"And you weren't weirded out by it?"

"I thought it was very sweet." He admitted and it made her blush again. "So come on and join me, I mean if you want too." So without a word Clarine walked over to the bed and sat on it.

"You know what kind of message this is giving me, right?" She asked him.

"Yes, I do." He said contently and his answer convinced her to lay down. After that he wrapped his arms around her and snuggled up close to her body.

"No funny business though. Those hands touch my chest or rear and you're going to wish that fireball hit you." Clarine threatened.

"Understood." Rutger replied and Clarine was 100% confident that nothing would happen.

"I'm glad. Maybe when we're closer though." She teased him with a unseen smirk.

"You know I'm going to hold you up to that." Rutger teased back and the two just relaxed in each other's embrace. "Goodnight Clarine, I'm glad you are here with me."

"Goodnight, I'm glad you're still alive." _And that you still feel the same about me._


	7. The Talk

**A/n- Feedback is welcome.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 6

Igrene was worried about Clarine more than she would care to let on. It seemed all she did was either sit next to that Rutger boy talking like he could hear her, or she was reading something to take her mind off of him. It reminded her of herself after her husband went missing and was assumed dead. She couldn't get out of bed for a week afterwards and she wasn't anything close to herself for years afterwards. Even now she wasn't completely over it, especially after meeting that Ostian spy in the army that looked like him. So when she walked into the room the boy was sleeping in and saw the two sleeping and embracing each other, she audibly sighed and shook her head.

"That poor girl is going to run herself ragged chasing after a unreachable goal." She said to herself as she walked over to the bed to separate them. She slowly reached out towards Rutger's hand and grabbed it. But when she did he grabbed her's back.

"You want to keep that hand?" Rutger asked threateningly without bothering to open his eyes and looking at who had touched him. Igrene was very shocked to hear his voice and she was a bit shaken by his words, but she knew how to keep her composure well.

"Well yes I would, kinda need that to use a bow effectively." She said calmly. "Look, I'm a friendly, I was just worried about Clarine there." She answered him and Rutger finally opened his eyes to see who it was.

"Oh, it's you." He said recognizing her and letting go of her hand. "Sorry about that, but I'm still very paranoid about bandits and such."

"You remember me?" Igrene asked him a bit surprised after Clarine hadn't.

"I'm good about faces." Rutger said simply. He was about to ask something else, but then Clarine started to stir and wake up. When she did she jumped a bit in the bed seeing Igrene standing over it.

"This is not what it looks like." She said quickly and both Rutger and Igrene smirked at that.

"Belive me I know, he's in no condition for something like that, and he's not happy enough for me to think that." Igrene said and Clarine pouted at her.

"And you think we'd be awake this early if we did?" Rutger added.

"Oh please, you told me last night that you'd never done anything like that before, you wouldn't last that long, especially with someone as pretty as myself." Clarine figured that it was better to joke than be upset, so she turned the tables on Rutger. But he wasn't about to let her get the best of him.

"Well, you're right about that." He started whispering in her ear. "You're so pretty though I don't think once would be enough to satisfy myself. I think it would take a whole night so I could caress and explore every part of your body." He was mostly playing with her, but the both of them were starting to feel the heat radiate from their bodies and who knows what would have happened if Igrene wasn't there.

"I can see why you like him." She said after clearing her throat to break them up a bit. "I'm going to go get something to eat, make sure you lock the door if you start doing something I don't want to see." And with that she left. There was silence for a few moments before Rutger spoke up in a more normal volume.

"Was that going too far?" He asked and Clarine rolled over in the bed to face him.

"No, I know you were mostly just trying to get a reaction out of me. But that does bring up a good question. When do we know when the right time is. I know it's not 'proper' for a lady such as myself to do such things, but if no one knows I don't really care that much about it. What are your thoughts?" Rutger was not expecting this conversation, not this early in the morning or in this 'relationship' really if you could call it that. So he thought about it for a moment before answering.

"I think that right now we are not ready for such a step." He started. "We don't know how things are going to turn out with this whole 'My mother was a noble' thing and we just got back together. We need to be closer before I even start to think about sex. I really do care about you Clarine and I don't want to ruin what we have in that way. So I say we wait untit we get out of the desert at least and even then you have the last say on when we do it."

"I agree with everything you just said." Clarine replied when he was done. "I mean I haven't even kissed you yet." Rutger knew what she meant and he started to smirk again.

"Well, you have the perfect opportunity to change that." He said a bit smugly. He was having fun with this and letting it show.

"Hm, I don't know. If I kiss you am I going to have to mysteriously disappear and leave you here to cry your eyes out?" Clarine asked as she slid up close to him. She was going to kiss him, but she was enjoying herself too.

"Depends if I like it or not."

"Oh, I think you will." And with that she closed the gap between them and kissed him on the lips. But this time was different than their first kiss. She actually lingered at his lips and let him kiss her back a bit before she pulled away. She didn't want it to be too long since it would be nice to gradualy work their way up, and because she wasn't quite sure how his lungs were shaping up. It was for the best because he was gasping a bit afterwards. "See, told you."

"Okay, you can stay." Rutger said smiling after he caught his breath.

"You're very handsome when you smile, you know that?" Clarine asked him as she put her hand on his cheek. "I'm glad I can be the one to make you do it so much."

"Well, you're beautiful when you're happy and calm as well." Rutger answered. "And I'm glad you're the one too, you're very good at it. I haven't smiled like this for a long time." After that there was a comfortable silence until Clarine thought of something.

"Will you go with Igrene and I to go find my father's hideout? I know you aren't feeling the best, but I would feel better about it if you came with us." She asked and this question was easy for Rutger to answer.

"Of course I will." He said holding her a bit closer. "It's the least I could do after everything you've done for me." She should have been satisfied with that answer, but she wanted to know something for sure.

"Is that the only reason?" She asked trying not to sound needy or rude.

"What do you think?" Rutger answered as he buried his head in her neck. "My heart says that it wants to be with you and I've listened to it all my life. If this is what I have to do to satisfy it then I will. Just let me rest for a little bit longer, I'm comfortable like this."

"Okay, I think I can live with that." Clarine said as she started to stroke his hair. He fell asleep again pretty quickly, but she wasn't worried about him. In fact she was confident in the fact he was so confident. She had been having her doubts while he was out for all that time, but he had a way of making things simple and stable for her and she appreciated it so much. "Sleep well my love, you deserve it."


	8. Interlude- Etruria

**A/n- Every once in a while there will be a short Interlude chapter showing important things side characters are doing, this is one of them. FYI Lord Henly is not an actual character, he's one I made up.**

Buried in the Sand Interlude

Priscilla walked down the halls of the Reglay castle with a letter in her hand. It wasn't from or for her husband Erk, but for a friend of theirs Lord Henly. If Erk was there he'd be the one to deliver this letter, seeing as Erk was the man's friend and she found him a bit, off-putting would be the word she would use to be polite. But since he wasn't there it was her duty to make sure the letter made it to it's destination. So she found her way to his office in the castle but was surprised to see a guard posted in front of it. She stopped in her tracks for a moment while she thought of what to say or do.

"Good afternoon Lady Priscilla." The guard greeted her kindly. "How may I be of service?"

"Well, I have this letter for Lord Henly, is now a bad time to give it to him?" Priscilla asked the guard with a twinge of nervousness.

"A little, he's in a meeting with some Bernese royals, but if you want I can deliver the letter when it's over so you can go about your business today." The guard offered. Priscilla thought about his offer for but a moment before handing him the letter and exhaling in releif.

"Thank you so much, this means a lot to me actually. Lord Henly just makes my skin crawl sometimes." She explained.

"Yeah, he can be a bit frightening sometimes. But not to worry Lady Priscilla, I will deliver this letter to the best of my ability." The guard replied with a confident smile and Priscilla smiled to before nodding and walking away. The guard then waited about an hour for the meeting to let out and then walked into Lord Henly's office.

"What business do you have here?" Lord Henly asked the guard as he came in.

"A letter for you sir." The guard replied. "It's not marked with anything else though, so I'm not quite sure who it's from. Now I'm not one to pry, but may I advise caution my lord. It may be laced with poison or something of the like."

"Thank you." Lord Henly said with a bit of sarcasm. He knew who the letter was from but he had to keep up an image so people wouldn't start asking questions. "You may leave now." So the guard left, none the wiser as he went to his usual position. When he was sure no one was looking, Lord Henly opened the letter and started to read it. It was from his right hand man who he had positioned in the Nabata Desert. In it contained a detailed report about his situation and a request for some more men because most of his unit had been killed. Henly sighed as he read it but towards the end of the message there was something decently good.

_I have finally found the hideout as per your orders. Trouble is that I can't open it to find and destroy the information inside. But my mole inside Arcadia says that there is a group about to go there and they know how to get inside. As long as you take care of things on your end, everything should fall into place._

"Well, it seems something good happened today." Lord Henly mused as he walked over to his fireplace and threw the letter in the fire. "You would think that more Bernese nobles would have supplied forces for my coup. Ah well, a well coordinated strike with what I'll have should do the trick. Now to just sit back and wait until the next meeting between Etruria and Lycia."


	9. Expectations and Reality

**A/n- A longer one huh? I wonder what happens?**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 7

Rutger needed a few more days of rest before he was confident enough to head back out into the desert, and Clarine and Igrene were glad to give it to him. He needed to see how far he could push himself if needed and if he could spend some more time with Clarine that was fine with him. The day finally came for them to head out and Clarine walked in on Rutger sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

"What are you doing?" She asked tilting her head a bit in curiosity. She knew he was awake because of his breathing, it was controlled and even, moreso than when he slept.

"I'm meditating." He said simply as he opened his eyes and looked at her. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the look she was giving him. "I used to do it a lot before the war and I've found it calms me and lets me get in tune with my feelings."

"What are you feeling?" Clarine asked as she sat down next to him.

"Fear, uncertainty, hope." He answered truthfully. "I'm not used to feeling this worried, I fear that it'll bring harm to you and Igrene. I feel like something is going go wrong for some reason and that it will be my fault."

"That's nonsense." Clarine said thinking what Rutger said was way off base. "Yes you may have made a mistake and you might not be at your top ability, but you are still the greatest swordsman I have ever met. You have done things that only a handful of people on Elibe can truthfully claim to have done, which is take on a dragon and not only survive, but win. Do you really think we're going to face a dragon out there?"

"We could, we are in Arcadia right now. And I don't have Durandal on me, left it with my horse." Rutger countered. But he was touched by Clarine's words and they did make him feel slightly better.

"Okay, so it raises the chance from 0 to 1 percent." Clarine said feeling his mood change. "And I have an Elfire tome anyways, remember? Look, if you can't win with your body, win with your mind. You are smarter than a lot of people give you credit for, and you said yourself your father was a genius so he must have rubbed off on you even a little. And I have confidence in you, which is the important thing really." That last one was a joke. It was true that Clarine could sound stuck up sometimes, but she had been trying her best to get away from that. Rutger understood and cracked another smile as he reached his hand out towards her.

"You've convinced me." He told her before explaining his gesture. "But how about you give me some of your confidence and meditate with me for a few minutes?"

"It would be my pleasure." Clarine answered as she took his hand and closed her eyes. "So I take it I just take deep breaths and go from there?"

"That's what I do." Rutger said as he closed his eyes again as well. "Sometimes my body wants to move someplace and I let it because it feels natural." While this was going on Igrene was in a whole different conversation and she could probably do with some meditation herself.

"Fa wants to go with you." The young looking dragon girl said for about the fifth time that day. Igrene was just about to go get Clarine and Rutger and she didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Fa, I know you want to, but I said no. And remember what happened last time you didn't listen to me?" Igrene asked.

"Fa got taken away." Fa answered glumly. "But Fa is stronger now, Fa can make bad men run away from her."

"Yes, and I'm going to need you to stay here to protect Arcadia while I'm gone. What if a bad man comes and tries to take Aunt Idoun away and you aren't here to stop them?" Igrene countered her and that's what did it finally.

"Fa would be in big trouble. And Fa likes Idoun, so I have to protect her." Fa said confidently.

"Good girl." Igrene said ruffling her purple-ish hair. "Now I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe that nice merchant will come around and show you his shiny rocks again." And with that she left to find the two younger ones. She didn't have to search long, they were in Rutger's room. What she didn't expect was to see them holding hands and about two inches away from the other's face. "Am I interrupting something?" She asked and their eyes shot open and the looked at her.

"We were just meditating." Clarine said a bit quickly as a blush crept up on her face.

"So that's what they call it these days." Igrene deadpanned. "And why are you blushing, you two talked about sex in front of me?"

"I'm just surprised, that's all." Clarine said as she stood up and brushed off he skirt. "Let's get going." She left the room and Igrene looked at Rutger.

"You ready?" Is all she asked.

"Well, the kiss would have been nice, but yeah I'm as ready as I can be." He answered. In response Igrene pulled out a red piece of cloth and gave it to him.

"This will help with the sand if you use it to cover your mouth. It may restrict your breathing a bit, but you can still talk normally through it." She explained.

"Thank you, this should be really helpful." Rutger said as he finally stood up. Then the two of them caught up with Clarine, who also had gotten a cloth for the desert wind, and they proceeded on their journey. It was a good day for the wind so it only took an hour to get to the entrance of the hideout. Rutger was quiet the entire time, well quieter than usual, and Clarine wondered why.

"You okay?" She asked as they reached the entrance.

"Yes, I'm just thinking about something."

"Mind sharing it with me?" Clarine asked raising her eyebrow at his evasiveness. It was like talking to him right after he joined the army.

"It's a little inappropriate." Rutger warned.

"Then it can lighten up the mood, I need something to make me laugh right now anyways. The tension of being here is getting to me a bit." Clarine said to coax it out of him. And it was true, being here so close to the end of her goal and the beginning of a new life most likely was making her excited and nervous at the same time. She wasn't expecting to hear the answer he gave though.

"Your skirt is really short." He said and the three of them stopped in their tracks.

"So, you do have those kind of thoughts." Igrene said with a smirk and Clarine was mixed between being flattered and flustered at the same time.

"So, have you been looking at my rear this whole time?" She asked putting her hand on her hip. His answer would determine how mad she would be.

"No, I just glanced at it once and then my mind took over. Like you said, I'm not an empty shell up here. I was just wondering how during the whole war you never fell over and accidentally let someone see your undergarments." He answered simply.

"You know, that is kinda funny." Clarine said as she smirked through her cloth. "Okay, you're off the hook."

"Come on, I could hear your voice, you sorta liked me thinking about it." Rutger teased her as he opened the door to the hideout for her.

"A little. And thank you for the door."

"Well, it is the 'gentlemanly' thing to to isn't it?" He liked teasing her, it was fun to see her reactions. And Clarine liked it too, it showed he had a sense of humor under his shell and told her that he trusted her enough to do it.

"You're impossible, you know that?" She asked shaking her head as Igrene came in. Rutger kept the door open so that light would filter in.

"Hey, at least I'm not as bad as my father, he did puns. All the time." He also liked that he could talk about his parents around her, it made him feel normal.

"Yeah, you start doing that and I'm leaving." Clarine said as she started looking at the tables strewn about the hideout. "We should split up so we can search more quickly." Rutger and Igrene agreed and they did just that. There were cobwebs all about the hideout, expected after 20 years of disuse, but other than that everything was very well preserved.

"The dryness of the desert must have kept it like this." Rutger pondered to himself as he shook a book hoping something would come out. No such luck though. But not a minute later he heard Clarine squeal in delight.

"I found it! Guys, come over here, I found it!" She exclaimed. Rutger had never seen her so excited and it put a mirthful smile on his face. So him and Igrene converged on her position to get a good look at it.

"Well, I don't understand all this jargon, but if you say this is it then I'll believe you." Igrene said getting there first.

"Let me see." Rutger said and Clarine handed it over. He started to read it and it did in fact state and prove that his mother Lyndis was the legitamate heir to the Caelin throne, making him one as well. "This proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt." With that he handed it back to Clarine.

"So, will you come back to Etruria with me now?" She asked knowing full well he would accept this time.

"If I have to." He said jokingly. "I'm sure I can make the best of it. But seriously, I probably do need to head to Caelin at some point."

"All in good time." Clarine assured him as she started heading for the opening. "I can't wait to-" It was at that point an arm caught her and restricted her movement. The document flew out of her hand and it floated over to Rutger who caught it.

"Not so quick little girl." The man holding her said. Rutger looked up and saw it was the bandit leader from before. The leader recognized him as well. "So, we meet again. Never would have thought you were the Sacaen scum that I was sent to stop."

"Let her go. I almost killed you last time, and now you don't have a sandstorm to help you." Rutger threatened him as he brought his sword out.

"Ah yes, but I have this." The bandit leader said putting a knife to Clarine's throat. "One wrong move and you girl starts gargling blood. So if you would kindly hand over that document and I'll let her go."

"Don't do it!" Clarine yelled and she got smacked for it.

"I don't have a clean shot." Igrene said. "But I doubt he'll keep his word." Rutger though the same, but he couldn't just stand by and let this happen to another person he held dear to him. This time would be different. So he slowly walked over and handed over the paper to the bandit and then stepped away again. The bandit leader had to put his knife away to hold it and that was an advantage.

"You're not going to let me go are you?" Clarine asked knowing all too well the answer.

"No way in hell. A cute little thing like you will fetch me quite a bit of gold, once I've had my fun of course." The man smirked as he started to back away. "So, you know the deal, follow me and she die-" His words were cut off by an unseen mage.

"ELFIRE!"


	10. Short Statured Savior

**A/n- Browine points to whoever guessed who was the one to save the group.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 8

Erk finished his letters to Lord Pent and his wife Priscilla and placed them in the mail slot of the inn he was staying in. It was a day before the end of the month and he was about to head out into the desert to go find Clarine and see if she was okay. He walked to the front desk of the inn and waited for the receptionist to show up.

"Are you checking out sir?" She asked him guessing that was the case.

"No, but I am going to be away for a few days. Here's enough gold for a week and a tip for the maids, make sure none of my things are touched please." Erk said placing a good sized bag of gold on the table. "That won't be any trouble will it?"

"Not at all." The woman said a bit surprised. "I thank you for your patronage and hope to see you soon." Erk gave her a nod and a wry smile before flipping his hood over his head and walking out. He walked over to the stables to find Clarine's horse James so he could ride him out to the desert.

"How are you doing James?" He asked the horse. He had grown to enjoy his company a little bit the last couple of weeks, and he could see why Clarine liked him so much. The horse nudged him with his nose and Erk rubbed it slightly. "Good. Well, you're going to feel better soon, we're going to go find Clarine." With that James made a happy sound and Erk got on to ride him. It was a silent ride out into the sandy area and it was late at night when he reached the edge of the desert.

"Might as well stop for the night, huh James?" Erk asked as he got off of the the steed. "You hungry?" The horse neighed and he fed him a few carrots and an apple to satisfy him. For himself he had some meat to cook so he gathered so wood and then pulled out his tome.

"Elfire!" He said and the fire came to life. He stuck his meat to some sticks and slowly began to eat before heading to sleep. The next morning he was as rested as he could be as he tied James to a nearby tree. "I'll be back for you soon, and so should Clarine." He said laying out some food for him in range of the rope. After that he headed out into the desert. He also had a cloth to put over his mouth so he was safe from any sand that might get near his mouth. A few hours later he came upon a city and he saw a young girl standing near the entrance gates.

"Don't come any closer!" The girl said when he was about ten feet away. "Fa isn't supposed to let anyone into Arcadia." Erk put his hands up to show he wasn't an enemy before he spoke.

"So, this is the legendary Arcadia." He said mostly for himself. He never though he'd get to see it this close up. "Do not worry, I'm not here to attack you, I'm just looking for a friend of mine."

"Fa might know them!" Fa said excitedly. "What do they look like?"

"Well, she's a tall girl, blonde hair, purple eyes, goes by the name Clarine." Erk said describing her.

"Fa does know her!" Fa said jumping up and down. "She just went with Igrene and Rutger to go find something in the desert."

"Igrene and Rutger?" Erk said a little confused. "Are they friendly?"

"Yes. Igrene takes care of Fa all the time and protects her and Clarine saved Rutger from a sandstorm. Fa thinks they are in love." Fa explained and Erk was satisfied with her answer.

"Okay Fa, can you tell me where they went?" He asked hoping she knew.

"No, Fa doesn't know. They said that they went to find a hideout though, does that help?" Fa said frowning.

"Actually, yes it does." Erk said knowing where to go since Lord Pent had given him a good idea where in the desert the hideout was. "Thank you Fa, you've been a big help." And with that Erk left to go find the group.

"Fa is so helpful." Fa said to herself after he left. "First the shiny rock man and now Clarine's friend, I feel important." Erk quickened his pace a bit as he walked in the general direction of where the hideout was, searching everywhere with his sight for something out of place. He finally found it when he saw a doorway out in the middle of nowhere. He approached slowly and heard voices coming out of it.

"I don't have a clear shot. But I doubt he'll keep his word." A female voice that didn't sound like Clarine said.

"You're not going to let me go are you?" That was Clarine for sure though. So Erk pulled out his tome and walked closer to see Clarine being held by a bandit with a female archer aiming towards them and a red clad swordsman with a pained expression on his face.

"No way in hell. A cute little thing like you will fetch me quite a bit of gold, once I've had my fun of course." That was the last straw and Erk didn't even hear the bandits next words as he flipped the pages to his tome and fired off a spell at his back.

"ELFIRE!" He said with a bit of anger and it showed since the fireball was a bit larger and unruly. The bandit screamed in pain an let Clarine free. He saw the swordsman dive to catch her, and he did, but not before she got a nasty looking cut on her leg. He also saw a piece of paper fly out of the bandit's hand and into the remnants of his spell. It burned up quickly and he thought nothing of it. The next moment though the archer train her sights on him.

"Are you a friendly?" She asked as she looked like she could let the arrow fly at any moment.

"He is, that's one of my father's friends Erk." Clarine said as she regained some composure in the swordsman's arms. "Erk, that is Igrene, Guardian of the Desert."

"I see, you look like someone I used to know. Does the name Hawkeye ring a bell?" Erk asked.

"He was my father." Igrene answered simply as she lowered her bow. "Thank you for your assistance."

"No problems. I'm just glad Fa told me you all were here." Erk said as he looked at Clarine. "Is your leg going to be okay?"

"Once we get back it should be, I have a healing staff you can use on it. You don't mind carrying me do you Rutger?" Clarine answered.

"Not at all, I'm just glad you're safe." He said holding her a bit closer.

"I take it this is the boy you told me about?" Erk asked and Clarine blushed a bit.

"Yes, he is. Rutger, this is Erk, a really good friend of my father." She was repeating herself to be sure, but she was in a bit of shock still.

"Nice to meet you." Erk said politely as Rutger picked Clarine up and held her. "Did you at least fine what you came here for?"

"Oh yes!" Clarine said happily. "The bandit had it though, so it should be here on the ground somewhere." That's when Erk connected the dots.

"Milady, I think we might have an issue with that."


	11. Moving On

**A/n- Not dead, just busy with other stuff.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 9

Rutger was very grateful for this Erk fellow's help, he had helped save Clarine's life when he couldn't and it seemed like the two knew each other. But when he said there was a problem he stared him down, silently asking what it was.

"Unless that paper he dropped wasn't what you were looking for." He explained. "It slipped out of his hand an into the Elfire spell." The room fell silent after that. Rutger couldn't believe something like this would have happened and he was beating himself up for not being able to protect Clarine and Clarine was thinking that all her hard work had gone to waste along with the blood that was running down her leg.

"Here, let me wrap that up for you." Rutger said as he took his mouth cloth off and wrapped it around the cut. It was the only thing he could think to do to not start cursing his rotten luck and ineffectiveness.

"Thanks, that's very sweet of you." Clarine replied a bit sullenly. She had enjoyed the last couple days with Rutger and she didn't want to go back to the way it was. Even Igrene was feeling bad about the two, seeing them had reminded them of her time with her late husband and how happy she felt in those years. Erk on the other hand was a little confused seeing as he thought it was obvious what the next step should be.

"So, should I write your father and say we're traveling to Caelin?" He asked to break the silence. The three others looked at him at confusion and he shook his head and started to explain. "That couldn't have been the only proof in all of Elibe that proves that young man's heritage. Lady Lyndis must have kept in contact with someone in Caelin who knows of your existance. A pair of knights come to mind pretty quickly for me and if they are still alive I'm sure that they would be more than willing to help you out." Realization set in for the young couple and Clarine looked Rutger in the eyes and they both started to smile a little bit.

"Erk, if I could stand up I would hug you so hard right now." Clarine finally said looking back at him. "I'm glad at least one of us could keep a cool head." That wasn't a dig on Rutger, she was just glad that Erk was smart enough to think of what he did.

"Well, that's what I'm here for. What kind of teacher would I be if I freaked out all the time?" Erk answered with a confident shrug. "Now, we should probably head back to Arcadia so we can get that leg of yours fixed." Everyone agreed and the four exited the hideout and started walking through the desert once more. Rutger kept carrying Clarine bridal style because he was the only one strong enough to do so, but he was slightly distracted by her face so close to his. Clarine noticed around the third rock he almost tripped over and got an idea.

"I know my face is pretty, but I'd like to make it back to Arcadia in one piece. How about we change positions a bit and I promise when we get there you can stare at me all you want." She said teasing him. He just shook his head and smiled at how silly the whole situation was.

"Then how do you propose I carry you?" He finally asked. "The only other way I can think of is to give you a ride on my back."

"That's not a half bad idea." Clarine said and they changed their positions and caught up with the other two. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you later." She whispered in his ear to tell him that she really did appreciate what he was doing and he smiled even though she couldn't see it. She rested her head on his head and put her arms loosely around his neck. Erk looked back at them and even if he wasn't quite sure about Rutger at the moment he was glad Clarine was happy.

"So, how did you end up here Rutger?" He asked as the two caught up. So him and Clarine took the rest of the trip back to Arcadia explaining what had happened. Clarine purposely left out the part about them sleeping in the same bed and talking about sex and Rutger was grateful for that. Not that he didn't trust Erk, he had known his mother and seemed to be a good friend to Clarine's family, he just seemed like the type of guy who would fling a spell at him without fear if he had to.

"Quite a story huh?" Rutger asked as they finished, he still didn't quite believe all himself.

"I would say so, but not totally out of the realm of possibility obviously." Erk answered as they reached the entrance of Arcadia. Fa was still out there 'guarding' so she greeted the four as they walked up.

"Welcome back. Fa did a good job of staying here and Aunt Idoun didn't get taken by bad men." She said happily. "Did you see the shiny rock salesman, Fa told him where you were."

"Fa, I think that he was bad man." Igrene told her. "He attacked us and almost took Clarine away."

"What?! Fa didn't know that! Fa is really sorry Clarine, I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Fa said looking down sadly.

"It's okay Fa, you didn't know. But we do have to leave soon because he took away the thing I needed, but Erk here knows where another one is." Clarine said to make her feel better.

"Fa promises not to tell anyone where you're going this time." Fa replied looking at her and Clarine smiled to thank her.

"We appreciate that Fa." Erk told her. "But we need to go inside so I can heal a cut she got, is it okay for me to go in?"

"If you're with Igrene than you are allowed in. Fa likes that rule, it makes it easy." Fa said happily and everyone walked into Arcadia. They went to the house that Rutger and Clarine were staying in and Erk healed her leg quickly.

"Thank you Erk." Clarine told him as she stood up and tested in out. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."

"Just doing my job." He replied. "I'll leave you two alone though so I can go write some letters to your father and to Caelin. Tomorrow we should head out in case more trouble shows up."

"What do you think Rutger, is that okay with you?" Clarine asked since it was okay with her.

"I'm fine with that. We probably should go find my dead horse though. I left it tied up just outside the desert and Durandal was in it's saddlebags. Kinda something we should know where it is." Rutger answered.

"Yeah, that's a priority for sure." Erk said. "So we'll do that and then head for Caelin. Gather up whatever supplies you have here, it'll help us until we get to a town." Rutger and Clarine nodded and then Erk left the room.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you Clarine." Rutger said when he was gone. "I should have seen him coming before I did, or killed him when I had the chance." Clarine responded by walking over and kissing him on the cheek.

"Don't think that way silly, you couldn't have controlled all of that and you did what you could and that's what matters." She told him in a soft, caring voice. "If anything I should apologize for getting caught."

"Okay, if you say so." Rutger said curtly. He was retreating back into his shell a bit seeing as the path to their future together had just gotten longer and more complicated. Clarine could sense this though and took it upon herself to cheer him up.

"Come on cheer up, at least we still have something. In fact I have a surprise for you, let me go get it." She said before leaving the room and then coming back with a small cake.

"You made that for me?" Rutger asked as she placed it on the table.

"I made it for us." She explained. "It is officially my 16th birthday and I couldn't think of anyone better to celebrate it with." Rutger was surprised. Of course he remembered what she said about it, but he didn't know the exact date.

"But why?" He asked in confusion. "Shouldn't you be having some grand party in Etruria with all your friends and family?"

"I could be having that party, and I have a few times before, but I've learned that it's better to spend these special days with the people you love doing something fun instead of being all dolled up and stuck in a castle. I would rather have ten birthdays like this than one like the others were. Though I do wish my parents and brother were here, but I'll see them next year." Clarine explained and Rutger finally smiled again.

"You've grown quite a bit from that annoying and bossy little girl I first met in Laus." He said as a compliment.

"Well, you're not the cold, emotionless killer anymore either. Your more like a bear, soft and fuzzy until someone pokes you." Clarine said smiling back at him. He rolled his eyes but did see the truth in her words. "Now, Fa helped me make this cake and I'm going to warn you she put some stuff I've never seen before in it, so it might be really good or really bad."

"We can suffer together then." Rutger said as he stood up and walked over to Clarine. "But first, let me give you a present since it is your birthday. I promise I'll have a better one next year." And with that he moved in and kissed her on the lips. It wasn't a short one either, he lingered there for a long time and brought her body closer to his so she could feel how much he wanted this relationship to work out. Clarine's mind went blank for a few moments, but when she realized what was going on she was in heaven. Her skin was starting to heat up and she didn't want this moment to end. Though with the mix of inexperience of kissing and the remaining sand in his body he had to pull away after a minute or so.

"Happy birthday Clarine, I love you." It was official, he had fallen for her and let her into his heart, the first person in a long while. And he would do anything to protect her.


	12. A Close Call

**A/n- I feel like at some point this might turn into an M rated story, but for now I'm skirting the issue as you'll see in this chapter.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 10

Clarine was overjoyed when Rutger told her that he loved her. It displaced any feelings she may have had that going this far and doing all this searching for proof was a waste of time. So she hugged him close and rested her head on his chest and told him how she felt.

"I love you too Rutger. I mean I'm sure it was kinda obvious, but I felt like I should tell you anyways." She said. But then she remembered something he said before he left her in Caelin. "So what you said about me being too young to understand love, that was a load of crap wasn't it?"

"It was." Rutger said a bit surprised she remembered that at this moment specifically. "I really just said that to make it easier for me to leave. I really do think you are a very mature person and I'm sorry if me saying that made you feel otherwise."

"It did, but I understand why you said it. I'm starting to realize how hard it really was for you to leave me there." Clarine said moving her head up to look him in the eyes.

"I almost stayed. If you wouldn't have closed your eyes or if someone would have seen us dancing I don't think I would have had the heart to leave." Rutger told her as he looked into her eyes as well. They stood like that for a decent amount of time until a sound knocked them out of their trance.

"We should probably eat the cake now." Clarine said blushing and looking away. "Before it goes bad I mean. Fa was very excited about us eating it for some reason." Normally a statement like that would raise a red flag in Rutger's mind, but since he thought of Fa as a small child, even if she wasn't one, he didn't think anything was wrong with it. So the two sat down at the table and started eating.

"This is actually pretty good." Rutger said between bites. "It's not too sweet and the fruity taste goes pretty well with the chocolate for once." He only ate a small piece though and Clarine wondered why.

"Not hungry?" She asked when he was done.

"It's more due to what effect sugar has on my body. I learned early on that if I have too many sweets that I tend to get a bit hyper. Not a good thing for someone with my skills wouldn't you think?" Rutger explained.

"Maybe, but I think it would be fun to see at least once. When was the last time it happened?" Clarine asked curiously.

"About a year before the war, on my birthday. My mother made a cake like this for it and I ended up having an eating contest with my father. I won, but at the cost of staying up all night with my mind racing." Rutger answered and Clarine giggled in response. Though her body was starting to heat up for some reason now and it was getting uncomfortable.

"I'm going to go change into my pajamas for tonight if you don't mind, it's getting a little hot in here." She said getting up from the table.

"I agree." Rutger replied. "So I'll probably be shirtless when you get back. You sure Erk isn't going to mind us sleeping together?"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt anyone." Clarine told him before leaving the room. Rutger took the time she was away to take one last bite of cake and take his robes and undershirt off. He then climbed into the bed, but didn't pull the blanket over himself. Something was up with his body, even with this little clothing on he was burning up and he was having some 'interesting' thoughts about Clarine.

"Hold yourself together." He said to himself. "You're probably just sick or something, which would be great." No one was there to appricate his sarcasm. A few uncomfortable minutes later Clarine came back into the room wearing a light purple and striped button up shirt and matching pants.

"So how do I look?" She asked striking a pose. She didn't exactly know wht she was showing off to him, but it felt right in the moment.

"That's a pretty cute outfit you have there." _I wonder what you have on under it._ He had to stop himself from saying that last part out loud and even what he did say sounded like he was trying to seduce her.

"Well, get used to it then, because you'll be seeing a lot of it in your future." Clarine said walking slowly over to the bed and laying down next to Rutger. She really enjoyed that comment he made about her clothes and enjoyed it even more when he put his arms around her. They laid like that silently for a few moments until Rutger's hand started fiddling with one of her shirt buttons. She put her own hand on his and spoke up. "I think that cake did something to us."

"Me too, I can't stop thinking about just taking your clothes off and having my way with you." Rutger replied before slowly starting to kiss the back of her neck. "If you don't think we should you should leave, because whatever is going on probably isn't going to stop until we're done." He said in a final moment of clarity.

"I don't want to leave." Meanwhile, in the house Erk was staying he had just finished writing two letters, one to Lord Pent and one to the current Knight Commander of Caelin, whomever that may be. When he was done he gave the letters to a messanger and then headed to go tell Clarine that they had been sent. On the way to the house though he ran into Fa who was talking to a purple haired woman who looked like she was in her 20's.

"Hello Erk, how are you doing?" She asked as he passed by.

"I'm doing just fine Fa. I'm going to tell Clarine some good news and then go to bed." Fa immediatly got up and got in his way.

"Fa wouldn't do that, Clarine is busy." She was vauge because it was what humans would call 'uncomfortable' to talk about.

"What do you mean she's busy?" Erk said walking around her. He could walk much faster than Fa could so Fa had to use her wings to keep up.

"Fa helped her make a cake for her birthday so she could eat it with Rutger to celebrate. Fa put something in it because Clarine said she liked him." Fa explained hoping Erk would understand. He stopped in his tracks because he had an idea of what it could be.

"Fa, what did you put in the cake?" He asked very seriously.

"Fa ground up some Trust Seeds and put it in the batter. So you should leave them alone until the morning. Then they can have a baby and be a happy family." Erk just shook his head and started running for the house. Trust Seeds were known to help the bond between two individuals, good for making up after fights or with people you want to get to know better. But when used by people who were in love, well you get the point. Add in teenage hormones and you see why he started to run. It wasn't as bad as it could have been when he got there, they both still had their undergarments on and Clarine was the one on top. He used the shock of them seeing him to walk over and pry Clarine off of Rutger kicking and screaming.

"Let go of me, let go of me! I don't care if it's not ladylike, I love him and he loves me!" She yelled as Erk took her away. Rutger was too dazed to make a threat or anything so he let them go and Clarine kept yelling.

"I can see that you two have true feelings for each other, but you've been subjected to mind altering substances and I'm stopping you from making a big mistake. You'll thank me in the morning." Erk said taking her to her own room and locking the door from the outside. He slumped down a bit on the wall from the physical exertion and Fa was right there next to him.

"Fa is confused. Don't you want them to be happy?" She asked Erk.

"Fa, we humans have different customs than dragons. We can't just go having kids whenever we want, it takes a lot of time and effort for us and we need to make that decision for ourselves." He explained. "I for one am glad Clarine found someone like Rutger, he's a strong willed individual and they bring out the best in each other. But they are still young, they aren't ready for a child."

"Fa understands, she thinks. Fa won't try to do anything like that again, Fa promises."

"Thank you Fa. Now if you don't mind, I need to sleep. We have a big day before us tomorrow."


	13. Not Quite the Morning After

**A/n- Next chapter will most likely be an interlude.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 11

Clarine awoke the next morning, slightly confused about her surroundings. She wasn't in Rutger's room and she was only wearing her undergarment and nothing else for some reason.

"What in Elimine's name happened last night?" She asked herself as she rubbed her forehead and started talking herself through the events that she remembered. "Let's see, Erk came and saved us, Rutger told me he loved me, we ate the cake Fa and I made." That's when everything came back to her, the kissing, the clothes being thrown away, Erk coming in and carrying her off of Rutger. She put her hand over her mouth and was about to go run and apologize when she heard a knock at the door.

"Clarine, are you decent?" It was Rutger and she was slightly scared about if he remembered what happened, but found out quickly that he did. "We need to talk about last night if you don't mind." There seemed like there was no escaping it so she stood up and walked over to where she put her normal clothes and started to put them on. _I guess one good thing came from that cake._ She thought before responding.

"Give me a minute, I'll open the door and let you in when I'm ready." She said through the door.

"Alright, I'll be right here waiting." Rutger said hoping she wasn't too mad at him. He had also only woken up in his undergarments, but he woke up a few hours eariler and talked to Erk. Surprisingly he understood the situation and didn't kill him and told him he wouldn't tell Clarine's parents. Though he did warn him if he did do anything like that without her permission he would flay him without another thought, exactly like Rutger thought he would. Erk was growing on him, and if Clarine's parents were anything like him, nice and caring, then he figured living in Etruria wouldn't be too bad. These thoughts were interrupted by the door to Clarine's room opening and he was so shocked he immediately brought out the bouquet of flowers he had for her.

"What are these for?" Clarine asked in surprise as the flowers were practically shoved in her face.

"An apology?" Rutger answered with uncertainty. "I thought I should do something an this was the first thing I thought of. Do you like them?"

"Um, yes they are quite pretty." Clarine told him. "But come on in so we can talk." He was acting like everything was his fault again when it clearly wasn't. So he came into the room and Clarine sat on the bed and he sat down next to her.

"So, are you mad at me?" Rutger asked after a few moments of silence.

"Why would I be mad at you? It was mostly Fa's fault anyways." Clarine answered like it was no big deal. But that wasn't good enough for Rutger.

"But-" He started. He didn't finish though because Clarine put a finger on his mouth.

"But nothing. We both made mistakes and it's equally our faults after we take out Fa's meddling. You have to stop thinking everything is your fault Rutger. You know, even if I do come off as perfect sometimes it's not true." Clarine joked as she moved her finger away. "Though I am glad you think so high of me."

"You're right." Rutger admitted. "I do tend to take unneeded blame on myself. It just seems like I cause too much trouble for the people I care about. I mean if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be out here in the middle of the desert almost getting killed and almost accidentally doing what happened last night."

"Yeah, but without you, I would probably be dead. Or worse, be a slave to Bern and that creepy guy in Laus. As much as you probably don't think it, you are a hero and you deserve to be happy and have good things happen to you. Ask anyone in the army. True, they probably would say you're a bit scary, but that's because they don't know you. But they all know how important you were to the cause, and so do I. If you could see yourself the way I see you, it would be eye opening for you I think." Clarine said letting a lot of thoughts out and hoping one of them latched onto his brain. He sat there for a moment thinking before he came up with a response.

"Don't leave me." He said looking her deeply in the eyes. He knew that she was right on all accords but that without her he would continue in his wrong thinking eventually. "My life has been so much better with you around and I don't want to lose these feelings I have. I feel happy for the first time since my parents died and it's because of you. So I'll try to be more positive, but I'm going to need your help."

"Rutger, the only way I would leave you is if you gave up on yourself. And I know that's not happening anytime soon." Clarine said putting her hand on his cheek. "I love you, and I promise to help you as much as I can."

"You know, you aren't helping that 'not perfect' image you talked abot earlier." Rutger joked and Clarine smiled seeing as he was coming to his senses. "And I love you too, very much in fact."

"I know you do." And with that she placed a light kiss on his lips and he was smiling afterwards. "That's what I like to see."

"So, how long until we can joke about this?" Rutger asked. "Because I'm really tempted to right now."

"Are you kidding, I was going to ask how pretty I looked in my undergarments as soon as I cheered you up." Clarine said, telling him that now was okay. But before he could respond there was a knock on the door.

"Are you two close to being done?" It was Erk, probably wanting to get a move on.

"Yes, we just got to the part where started laughing at how you had to pull Clarine off me." Rutger said through the door and the two of them could only hold a straight face for a second before laughing and falling back onto the bed. After that though they let Erk in, they talked for a bit, and then got their things ready. Erk had remembered that he needed to get his stuff from the inn and they would go there first. They stopped at the entrance of Arcadia though for some goodbyes.

"Will you visit Fa again?" Fa asked. "Fa likes you a lot and wishes you could stay longer."

"Fa, I promise for the both of us that we will come back to see you." Clarine said knowing that Rutger would agree. "I had a lot of fun with you Fa and I think of you as a friend."

"Me too." Rutger added and Fa jumped for joy.

"You are welcome back anytime." Igrene told the three. "I promise I won't shoot any arrows at you next time."

"Wow, you made a joke." Fa said in wonder after that.

"What can I say, those two have rubbed off on me." Igrene said with a shrug. After that Fa hugged everyone and the three left the desert. They got Erk's stuff from the inn and then headed for where Rutger said his horse should be. They were all expecting flies all around and a horrible stench, but they didn't get it.

"Are you sure this is where it was?" Erk asked.

"Yes, I remember this place very well. This is bad, someone we don't know has a Divine Weapon. It could mean something very bad." Rutger answered.

"Well, who could use it? Not many people." Clarine said trying to be positive.

"Elimine help us if they can though."


	14. Interlude- Etruria & Caelin

**A/n- Two locations for the price of one!**

Buried in the Sand Interlude

**Etruria**

"Lord Pent, I letter for you from Mr. Erk." The guard said handing his liege an envelope.

"Thank you Sean, this is very appreciated. How are your wife and kids doing?" Pent asked taking it. He always liked to chat up the guards and take an interest in their lives, and most of them enjoyed it.

"They are doing good Lord Pent, Greg just got his apprenticeship with the baker and Jarrod is just about to start secondary school." The conversation went on for a few minutes until Sean had to get going so he could deliver a package to Lord Henly.

"And what might the package be?" Pent asked curiously as always.

"Not sure, but by the looks of the box I would guess some sort of sword." Sean answered.

"Makes sense." Pent replied. "Did you know Lord Henly is a very experienced swordsman? He doesn't do much fighting nowadays but he does have quite the collection of swords. So you might want to be careful with the package.

"I will Lord Pent." Sean told him. And with a bow he was off to deliver it. Pent walked back to the table his wife was at and opened the envelope he was handed.

"Is it from Erk dear?" Louise asked. She was waiting for news about Clarine and her quest, hopefully it was good news.

"It certainly is." Pent answered as he quickly skimmed the letter for information. "Looks like quite a lot happened in Arcadia. Clarine found Rutger half dead out in the desert, she nursed him back to health, and they found the proof they needed but Erk accidentally set it on fire saving Clarine from a bandit."

"Oh, that sounds really sweet actually." Louise said smiling about the story. "But what are they going to do know, come back here?"

"No, it seems like they are heading to Caelin directly. Hm, wonder who thought that plan up?" Pent asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm glad they aren't giving up, but we probably won't see Clarine for a bit longer."

"I do hope she gets back before the Ball, I would love to see that young man dancing with her."

**Caelin**

The Knight Commander looked at the letter one last time. _Lyndis_. That was a name he hadn't heard in a long time. 15 years if not more since the last time he even saw the fair lady. And now her son was supposedly coming to Caelin to find out the truth he had never been told.

"Kent, I really wish you were still here with us." He said aloud to himself. "You were always better with these sort of things and you would have wanted to see this young man for yourself. Wherever you are I'm sure you're as much wonder as I am, but you don't have to deal with this." He sat there thinking for a few minutes of what to do before settling on a plan.

"Squire!" He called out and a young man came out to meet him.

"Yes my liege?" The squire asked with a bow.

"We have guests from Etruria coming in a week and we're going to make them feel welcome. Tell the chefs and decorators to do the best they can to plan a dinner and make the castle look nice. And make sure the painting of Lady Lyndis is spotless."

"Yes Knight Commander Sain, I will do my best to relay your message with speed." And with that the squire left.

"The world still keeps on turning it seems. We all have to face it eventually."


	15. A Day in Caelin

**A/n- Hey, an update.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 12

Traveling to Caelin with Rutger felt very natural to Clarine. It was like they were back in the war, but without all the nasty fighting and strife. So overall it was a nice week, she even convinced Erk to let them sleep in the same tent together. Nothing happened of course, but it was nice nonetheless. Anyways, the day came where they were to make it to the castle and they stopped for a moment at a cliff overlooking it.

"Erk, I have a question for you." Rutger said as he looked out and saw the castle. He had gotten comfortable around Erk as well so it was with his normal tone of voice. "They are going to want me to stay here, aren't they?"

"They might. It depends on how much they like you. I'm sure you know about the prejudice Sacaens are put under in Elibe, and you looking like someone from Bern probably isn't going to help either." Erk said frankly. "The real question though is if you want them to want you to stay."

"I don't know really." Rutger admitted. "I mean I don't think I'm suited to handle such responsibility. I mean I'm a fighter, not a diplomat. But then again if I go to Etruria with you guys I'll look and feel like a hypocrite."

"I'm sure your mother felt some of the same feelings you're having now." Clarine said walking up and taking his hand. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I do want to." Rutger told her softly as he squeezed her hand a bit. "I want to do it for you. Something will happen to tell me what I should do, but only if I put myself out there. Besides, maybe this is where my heart will tell me I should be." After that they began their descent into the valley where the castle was. They were greeted by a knight when they were about 100 feet from it.

"Are you the visitors from Etruria?" He asked politely and Rutger and Clarine let Erk do the talking because he was the best at it.

"Yes, we are. We are here to see the Knight Commander to talk about some matters concerning this young man's heritage." Erk said motioning to Rutger at the end.

"Good, we've been preparing for you to come. Please follow me and we'll stable up your horses and you can meet the commander." The knight said. So they did that and then entered the castle. It was very clean an tidy on the inside and there were many paintings hung on the walls. Clarine stood in front of one and stared at it longingly. She sighed and Rutger came up behind her when she did.

"What's wrong?" He asked her as he put his arm around her shoulder.

"I guess I'm just a bit jealous about how pretty these women in the pictures are. I know it's a bit vain, but I still feel that way." She explained.

"I understand, there's nothing wrong about wanting to look good. And you know I think you're beautiful. And I bet this painting has nothing on..." He glanced at the painting while he talked and what he saw made him speechless.

"What is it?" Clarine asked noticing that something was wrong.

"This painting, it's of my mother." He said slowly as he stepped closer and took a better look.

"No way." Clarine said in wonder as she stepped closer as well. Rutger began to reach out his hand to touch the painting when another voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." An older, yet still energetic voice told him. "We just cleaned it, and you wouldn't want to besmirch your mother's beauty any more than that stuffy dress did." Rutger turned to face a a man with graying green hair and a slight smirk on his face.

"Did you know her?" He asked, not knowing who he was.

"Know her? I had dreams about her when I was a younger man. But that's not important. My name is Sain, I'm the knight commander here in Caelin. I've been trying to keep things in order ever since Lord Hector's death."

"I've seen worse." Clarine commented. It wasn't mean spirited though. "I take it you know why we're here?"

"Of course, to prove this young man's heritage." Sain answered confidently.

"How did you know it was me?" Rutger asked a bit confused.

"Your eyes, they reminded me of your parents. They have your mother's fire and your father's intelligence." Sain said simply. "It's a shame what happened to them, I'm truly sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, it was Zephiel's." Rutger answered showing his growth by not just saying it was all of Bern.

"Oh, there you two are." Erk said catching up to them. "And I see you've met Sir Sain as well."

"Erk, I haven't seen you in forever. You still single, or did you finally take my advice and find yourself a lady?" Sain said smiling.

"I actually did Sir Sain, I actually did."

"Well then, I'd love to hear about it over dinner. Come, we've set up a grand feast for the three of you." Sain said and the four of them headed for the dining hall.

"You didn't really have to do all this." Rutger said when he saw all the food and decorations.

"I know, but I wanted to out of respect for your parents, and because the men have been working so hard to rebuild everything since the war ended." Sain replied.

"You really are a true knight." Erk said with slight amusement. "What did Sir Kent say when you started acting serious?" Sain was silent for a few moments after that and that tipped the three off that something was wrong.

"Sir Kent. he died protecting us during the war." Was the solemn reply. "He would have wanted to meet you so much Rutger, he cared about your parents more than the rest of us ever could."

"I'm sure that he's with them somewhere." Rutger said placing a hand on the aging knight's shoulder. "And they are all smiling. Thank you Sir Sain, for all of this, it's very nice." After that the mood turned more jovial and everyone ate and spoke with each other. Rutger was impressed with the people of Caelin, they weren't as snooty as most places, but they knew the importance of manners and having a good time. He felt welcomed, and no one even mentioned either side of his heritage. And it was killing him inside. He was starting to like this place already, but knew he'd have to leave.

"So, what have you been up to since the war?" Sain asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Erk's letter told me a bit, but I'm curious."

"I wandered around Elibe as a mercenary, helping people who really needed it. Turns out it's something I'm really good at. As long as I'm not in a desert." Clarine giggled at that and Rutger grinned back.

"Hm, interesting. I tried the mercenary route once, but once Bern started to move I knew I had to come back to protect Caelin." Sain told him. "I bet your parents would be proud." There was no way Sain would have known that this was still a sore subject with him, so he didn't act hurt, even if he was. After the feast everyone was tired from the trip and the food so Sain gave them a short tour of the castle and then everyone decided to turn in early for the night. Erk got his own room and Rutger and Clarine decided to share one again.

"Are you sure they should be doing that?" Sain asked Erk, thinking back to his early days.

"They've been fine so far, plus they had a close call with trust seeds, so I think we can trust them."

"I'm not going to ask. Anyways, have a good night Erk, it is really nice to see you again."

"The same goes to you Sir Sain." Meanwhile, Rutger was having a hard time falling asleep, even with Clarine there so he got out of the bed and went outside to think. He found a grassy spot and started to meditate.

_Mother, Father, please send me a sign to tell me what I should do. I'm so confused right now, I'm in love with Clarine but I know I should stay here and help the people rebuild. I may not be the best leader, but I can at least try. Please, just something, anything really._

"It's really a nice nice night out here isn't it?" A voice said cutting through his pleas. It was Clarine, standing there barefoot and in her pajamas. She took one look at Rutger's face and started to explain. "Come on, like I'm not going to worry when you aren't there."

"Sorry." Was all Rutger could tell her with everything racing in his head.

"No way, you aren't slipping back into 'Old Rutger' not while I'm around." Clarine said as she walked around him and proceeded to sit on his lap.

"What are you doing?" He asked confused.

"These are my only pair of pajamas, I'm not going to get them dirty before I sleep in them. Besides, I think you need this." It was true. So he wrapped his arms around her and lightly rested his chin on her head. "So, what is the matter?"

"I feel like a hypocrite." Rutger started. "I know it's only been a day, but I really like it here and I think I could really make a difference. But I know I'm going to have to leave." He didn't say 'because of you' but Clarine knew. She took a deep breath though and replied.

"Then I'll come back here with you." She said sincerely. But of course Rutger had objections.

"Remember what I said last time you suggested that?" He asked. "I still feel the same, I couldn't do that to you, keep you that far away from your family and the people you love."

"Are you kidding me?" She said back a bit harshly. "You know my brother Klein right? The girl he likes lives in Ilia, which is so much farther away from home that here is. And I still see him all the time. And Etruria is in good hands, they have enough good people and I don't think losing me will hurt them. And before you say it, no that's not selling myself short, it's just the truth."

"I just don't want you to end up regretting it and blaming me for it, because I would never want to cause you that pain." Rutger said warming up to the idea.

"Rutger, you can be so dense sometimes." Clarine said in a joking tone. "How many times do I have to tell you I love you before you get it?"

"I know, I get it from my mother." Rutger said with a grin. "And I guess it would help with you being here since I know nothing about leading anything."

"See, there you go. Don't you feel better now?" Clarine said snuggling up to him more and then yawning. "But of course we're going to have the wedding in Etruria, that isn't debatable."

"I haven't even proposed to you yet." Rutger said getting tired as well.

"You will." Clarine yawned again. "And it'll be great and I'll cry and then youzzz." She fell asleep in the middle of her sentence and Rutger could only grin.

_Thank you, both of you. And say hello to Sir Kent for me if you can._


	16. Progress

Buried In The Sand Chapter 13

A week passed in Caelin, and everything was going very smoothly for everyone involved. Rutger was learning more and more about the people, and the people enjoyed having someone around who could protect them even more than the knights could. Clarine was also getting to know the people of Caelin as well, and she respected their hard-working attitude and good family values. Of course she would introduce some fashion sense in good time, but she wouldn't be pushy about it. Even Erk and Sain were doing better. Sain could relax in knowing that Caelin would be in good hands with Rutger and Clarine, and Erk was treating this whole experience like a vacation as well. It all came to a head when Sain called Rutger to his quarters to talk privately.

"So what do you think?" Was Sain needed to ask and Rutger knew what he meant by it.

"I think I want to stay here, permanently." Rutger began his answer. "Caelin is starting to feel like a real home to me, and for the first time my heart isn't telling me to move on. I mean of course I'm going to have to take Clarine to Etruria to see her parents, but I promise I will come back if you'll have me."

"Why wouldn't we?" Sain said with a smile. "You two have been great this last week. Morale hasn't been higher since before the war. I know that if you stay only good things can come of it."

"Thank you Sir Sain, that means a lot to me, really." Rutger said with a slight smile back. "I'm going to try my best to serve Caelin to the best of my ability."

"Good, then there is someone you should meet soon. He isn't here in Caelin yet, but he will be back soon." Sain told him.

"Sounds good. Just tell me when he shows up." Rutger said. "Well, I'm going to see what Clarine is up to, so I'll see you for dinner." And with that he left and did just what he said he was going to do. He opened the door to his room to see Clarine staring at her mirror and pouting as she held a dress in front of her body. "Do I even want to ask what's wrong?"

"Probably not, but I'm going to tell you anyways." Clarine said turning to get a different view of herself. "You see that letter on the table there? Well, it's from my parents and I totally forgot that the Etrurian Royal Ball was a month and a half away. So now I'm trying to find a dress to wear for the occasion, but nothing is looking good."

"Well, I wouldn't said nothing is looking good, I mean it is still you." Rutger said walking up behind her to get a look in the mirror.

"Nice save." Clarine said with a smile. But then she looked at Rutger in the mirror and her eyes lit up. She then turned around with a somewhat evil grin. "You know, if you're going to be my consort, you'll need something to wear as well." Rutger knew where this was going, and even if it did make him smile to see her like that, he had to set some ground rules so she didn't go completely overboard with him.

"Two conditions. One, my hair color stays the same, and two, it stays roughly the the same length." He said.

"I think I can work with that, besides I like your hair, it suits you well." Clarine said not losing her excitement. "Now I wonder where we can find a good tailor around here. Do you think that Sir Sain would know about something like that?"

"Knowing what he told us about his younger years, definitely." Rutger said. "I guess we should pay him a visit." And so Rutger and Clarine walked back to Sain's room and knocked.

"You forget something?" Sain asked looking at the couple. He couldn't help but grin at how close they were.

"No, we were just wondering if you knew if there were any good tailors here around Caelin." Clarine said getting straight to the point. Sain thought about it for a second, his face brightened, but then fell.

"That doesn't bode well." Rutger noted.

"Well, it would be okay, if it weren't you I'm telling this to." Sain said quietly. "The only tailor I know who operates around here is doing business in Bulgar at the moment." Rutger's eyes shot open for a half second before he recomposed himself. Clarine saw it and she squeezed his arm for support.

"They've rebuilt it?" Rutger asked slowly as he tried to comprehend what he was feeling. "Why haven't you told me yet?"

"I was trying to find a good way to tell you to be honest. You told me your story and I knew it would have an affect on you." Sain answered. "You're actually taking it better than I thought you would."

"You are taking it well right?" Clarine asked to make sure.

"I think so? I mean, I think of Bulgar and I think of all the people who died, like my parents, the people that I knew from the shops, and even the travellers, and all that anger wants to come back to me. But then I realize that I already went down that path and it calms me down a bit, and then I'm left with feeling good that they rebuilt."

"I mean, we don't have to go if you don't want to." Clarine told him, really meaning it.

"No, I'll go. It'll be one more thing to finally get past my past." Rutger said determinedly. "In fact, if we're going to go to Bulgar, I might as show you were I used to live."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I know it sounds like I'm babying you, but I'm really concerned. I don't want to lose you to yourself again." Clarine said tearing up slightly. Rutger put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"That's not going to happen, not again. I have you to pull me back to reality if I really need it, even though I think I won't. I don't want to lose you either, and I know better than to go back to the way I was." He said confidently.

"Okay, I trust you." Clarine said taking a deep breath. "You're voice is very comforting you know?"

"I'm glad it is. Now, why don't we get some food, that always seems to lighten my mood when I'm not doing so good." Rutger suggested and Clarine agreed. So the three of them headed to the dining hall and waited for the food to be served. It was a good meal, but about the time Rutger was full a squire walked up to Sain's chair and whispered something into his ear.

"Ah, it looks like he's back early then." He commented before turning to Rutger. "Rutger, would you mind coming with me, the person I wanted you to meet is here."

"Sure. Clarine, you want to come as well?" Rutger asked.

"No, I need to think some about how I'm going to coordinate our outfits for the ball. I'm sure I'll meet them later though." She said. She was still concerned about Rutger going to Bulgar slightly though, so she also wanted to think of something she could do for him as well.

"Okay, it shouldn't take long for me I would think." Rutger told her as he got up. Then he followed Sain down to the stables because that's where the person was. Who he saw was a red-haired man, about his age, in black armor tending his horse.

"Ah, Commander Sain, how does the day fare you?" He asked the aging knight. He noticed Rutger standing next to him, but figured he would introduce him.

"It fares very well. I take it you received the letter that I sent to you?" The man nodded. "Well, this is him. Sir Paul, let me introduce you to Rutger, son of Lady Lyndis and Mark the tactician."

"It's nice to meet you my liege." Paul said kneeling down.

"There's no need for you to be so formal with me." Rutger said still bit uncomfortable with people kneeling to him. "Besides, we seem to be around the same age."

"Well, I'm about 18 years old, how about you?" Paul asked him standing up and being less formal. Rutger liked that.

"18 as well." He answered. But he was still wondering why Sain wanted him to meet this knight in particular. Sain could sense this so he spoke up.

"Sir Paul is Sir Kent's son, and the one that will be taking my position of Knight Commander, sooner rather than later." He explained.

"I hope we can get to know each other better so I can be of use to you in the future." Paul said confidently. "I've heard many good things about you."

"I hope the same as well." Rutger told him. "I hope this isn't a sore spot, but if you're half of what people told me your father was, Caelin will be in good hands."

"It's not, my father was a great knight and he's what my inspiration was to be a knight. Though I do hope I'm a bit more personable than he was." Sain chuckled at that so Rutger knew it was a joke.

"Well, I like you already so it must be working. We should spar sometime, I'm learning that it helps get to know people better."

"I won't go easy on you just because you're the Marquess, I hope you know that." Paul said joking, even though he knew Rutger was a war hero.

"Well, I have to keep my top knight in shape now don't I?" Rutger joked back and Paul flashed a smile. Sain smiled too seeing the two getting along so well. "And about being personable, don't worry, I'm still working on that as well."

"Duly noted. Now if you will, I need to write up my final report about my mission, but I hope to see you later." Paul said.

"Go right ahead." Rutger said and Paul left. "I like him, he's confident in himself."

"The people like that about him too." Sain commented. "Well, today went just about as well as it could, but I think I'm going to turn in early tonight. If you need anything I'm sure Paul can answer it for you."

"Okay. Goodnight Sir Sain." Rutger said before being alone and standing there for a few moments. That is until Paul's horse kicked some dirt on his robes and face.

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you to your thoughts." Rutger said to the horse as he dusted himself off. "I could use a bath now that I think about it." So he found his way back to the room he was sharing with Clarine and entered it. Surprisingly, Clarine wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Clarine, you in here?" He called out. No answer. So he shrugged his shoulders and started to take his clothes off until he was down to his underwear. They were black like the rest of his were and he walked into the washroom without another thought. His eyes scanned the room until he saw the bathtub. And the person inside it.

"Ahh! Sorry! I didn't mean to come in here!" He said covering his eyes. He had only seen a peek, but with his sharp eyes it was enough to see a lot. Now he was just hoping Clarine wouldn't throw her soap at him.

**A/n- Ha ha, cliffhanger.**


	17. A Night in Caelin

**A/n- Remember when I said I might turn this into a M-Rated story? Well I did and this is when it's happening. Nothing plot relevant happens here (unless you count the romance as plot then it does) so you can skip it if you want to.**

Buried in the Sand Chapter 14

Clarine left the dining hall still thinking about what she could do for Rutger to cheer him up some about the whole 'going to Bulgar' thing. And she was mumbling to herself about it too.

"No, that's not enough I think. And he might not quite like that either. But what if I- no, not that either." Then it hit her. It hit her so hard she stopped in her tracks. "That's it! That's what I can do, and well I guess it would make me happy too." She said to herself with a grin. Though I should go and tell Erk what I'm thinking though." So she walked to Erk's room and knocked on the door.

"Come it, it's open." Erk said. He was laying on his bed reading a book that Pent had sent him along with his letter asking how things were going and answering some of his questions he had. Clarine opened the door and Erk put the book down. "Ah, Lady Clarine, how may I be of assistance?" Suddenly Clarine was speechless. She didn't know how to explain what she wanted to without it sounding indecent.

"Um, well, I wanted to talk to you about something." She finally said stepping into the room.

"I'm all ears." Erk said noticing that she was nervous, so he sat up and gave his full attention.

"Well, you may know this already, but we have go to Bulgar so we can get some nice clothes for the Royal Ball that's coming up." Clarine started. "Rutger is being strong about it, but I feel like I should do something for him because it was my idea to go there mostly."

"A very fine gesture for a young woman as yourself in a courting relationship." Erk commented.

"Thank you. I was thinking that I could give him something, but I couldn't think of anything until something finally came to mind." Clarine continued.

"And what would that be?" Erk asked confused as to why she was coming to him about this, he didn't know what a good gift for Rutger would be either. Clarine didn't want to come out and say it so she had to find a way for Erk to connect the dots. He was smart so she was confident.

"Well, I want to give him something," She paused, "something that I can only give to one person in my lifetime." There was a hanging silence in the air. Erk's mind started turning and when he realized it he almost started to laugh.

_I can't believe that I was so right to ask Lord Pent about this very situation. Now, what did he write me to do? Ah, yes that._ He thought to himself before he spoke up.

"Are you sure about this? This is a big step you would be taking with him. What if something goes wrong in the moment and you get pregnant? Are you willing to take the heat for that back in Etruria?" Those were the questions that Pent told him to ask. But Louise told him to ask one for her as well. "And most importantly, do you love him that much?" Clarine knew that all of his questions were valid, but she confidently could say 'yes' to all of them.

"I believe that I am." She said after taking a breath to calm herself and sound confident. "Rutger isn't the type of guy that would run off if I got pregnant, in fact he'd probably blame himself. As for Etruria, I'm going to be here in Caelin so what would I care? It's not like my family is going to disown me, they aren't like other royals, thank Elimine. And I can whole-heartedly say that I love Rutger with everything I have, every fiber of my being. If I wasn't the woman in this situation I would have proposed to him already. Is that good enough for you?"

"It doesn't matter if it's good enough for me, it's if it's good enough for your parents. Which I think it is." Erk said standing up. "Like you said, they aren't normal, and we love them for that. You have to remember, you're mother went on a war campain with your brother being already conceived. They'll understand, trust me. But I won't tell them, it's something you should do yourself."

"Thank you Erk." Clarine said giving the man a hug. "I know I can always come to you for advice." That made her think about something though. "Speaking of that, I heard that it hurts the first time you do it. Is there anyway to not make it so bad?" Erk pulled back from the hug a bit shocked and stuttering a bit.

"L-Lady Clarine, why would I know such things?" He said embarrassed that he was even asked that.

"Well, you're married and all, I would think you'd have a bit of experience in the subject." Clarine said not phased. "If you don't, that's fine, just thought I'd ask."

"I guess I could tell you a few things." Erk admitted. "First off, take it slow. The more into it you are the looser your body will be. Also, if you have some body oils and such, use those as lubricant. And I guess lastly, maybe take a bath beforehand. Soft skin may help, but that's just a theory of mine."

"Okay, I think I can work with that." Clarine said taking in the information. "Well, wish me luck." And with that Clarine left the room and Erk went back to his book.

"Rutger, you lucky son of, well Mark and Lyn." He commented to himself, not wanting to attribute anything bad to his deceased friends. Meanwhile Clarine went back to the room her and Rutger were sharing and she looked out the window. Luckily she had a good view of Rutger talking with Sain and the other knight. They looked like they were having a good time which made her think she would have enough time for a bath. So she walked into the washroom and started to draw the warm water for it. When she was done with that she gathered up the body oil for later and also found a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap for her bath. Lastly, she took her clothes off and neatly folded them near where the towels where. She even undid her hair and placed the ribbon on top in case someone found them.

"Finally." She said to herself as she walked over to the bath and slowly stepped in. The water was the perfect temperature and she was happy with her hard work. A few minutes passed and she was about to start washing herself when suddenly Rutger walked into the washroom only wearing his underwear. Clarine's eyes widened for a moment before she got a hold of herself. Like, she had seen Rutger in his underwear before that one night in Arcadia, but this was different. His chest was muscular, but not bulky, and his arms and legs were slim but strong looking. Not to mention his underwear. He had explained to her that he wore a somewhat small and form fitting pair so his privates wouldn't hinder him in a battle, but now she was seeing another advantage to them slightly bulging from his thigh area. She was about to say something, because the room was shaped so that people that entered couldn't see if there was someone in the bath, but just then Rutger turned and saw her. He quickly covered his eyes and covered his body up.

"Ahh! Sorry! I didn't mean to come in here!" He said turning his head away. He probably though she was going to throw something at him, but she just took a deep breath before speaking.

"Oh come on, I thought you said I was pretty." She said jokingly. She noticed that her breasts were showing so she covered them up with her arms to go along with the fake pout she was doing. "We're you lying to me Rutger?" He slowly moved his hands away from his face and had a very surprised look on his face.

"Um, no?" He practically asked. "I'm confused now, so if you could kindly tell me what's going on?"

"I'm taking a bath." Clarine said simply. "And it looks like you want to take one too. I just started mine, why don't you join me?" Rutger thought about it for a moment and started to walk towards the bathtub. He started to swing his leg around when Clarine stopped him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She said motioning to his underwear. "I mean unless you bathe with those on, but I doubt that."

"Are you sure?" Rutger asked.

"Either you do it or I'll do it." Clarine stated. So Rutger took a step back and slid his underwear off. Throughout everything that had happened he was still sort of aroused so his dick was semi-erect. Clarine eyed it until he climbed into the water himself. Then there was a silence between the two. Both of them were new to this so they didn't know what to say.

"So-" Rutger started but Clarine cut him off.

"Turn around." She told him.

"What?" He asked her.

"Turn around, I want to wash your hair. Looks like it needs it too, is that dirt in there?" She asked.

"It is, a horse kicked it there, kinda why I wanted to take a bath in the first place." Rutger admitted before he turned around. Clarine got on her knees and started to pour water over his hair to get it ready for the shampoo.

"So, who was it that you were talking to?" She asked him while doing that. Erk said take it slow, so she would take it slow.

"Sir Kent's son actually. Sain told me that he's next in line to be Knight Commander, so we'll be working closely with him." He answered feeling a bit more comfortable. "You should meet him soon."

"Maybe tomorrow, I still have plans for tonight." Clarine said lathering up her hands. She placed them on Rutger's head and started to rub the shampoo all over his long flowing hair. "Have you ever thought about tying this up into a ponytail? I think it might look good on you." She commented.

"I actually have done that a couple of times, usually after I get it cut so it doesn't look too weird as it grows back." Rutger answered. As she was washing his hair her breasts would keep brushing up against his back from time to time and it was giving him goosebumps.

"Hm, I'd like to see that sometime." Clarine chuckled. "I'm not getting any in your eyes am I?"

"Not at all, you're very good at this. Probably had practice with your brother right?" He joked.

"Ha, he wishes." Clarine said laughing. "If I did his hair he really would look the best. Okay, time to dunk your head in the water." Rutger acquiesced and rinsed his hair by submerging his head. "There, much better. Now it's my turn." Clarine told him before she turned around so he could wash her hair. Rutger paused and she noticed it. "What's wrong?"

"Are we really going to do this?" Rutger asked really needing to know. "Because my instincts are telling me to do things but my mind is stopping me. So I have to ask if this is for real." He was nervous and timid, something he rarely was. Clarine turned to face him though so she could talk to him face to face.

"Yes, I want to do this if you're willing. Remember what you said in Arcadia? You told me that I would be the one to decide when we take this step and I think that we're ready." Clarine told him as she took his hand. "Unless you aren't ready, then we can just take this nice bath together and call it a night." Rutger thought about it, weighing his options, and finally decided on his course of action. He wrapped his arms around Clarine and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"I'm ready, but if you start to feel uncomfortable just tell me and we can stop." He said softly afterwards. Clarine smiled and nestled her head into the crook of his neck to feel his warmth before responding.

"Deal, but don't be getting a head of yourself, I still want to take a bath here." She joked and Rutger started to laugh slightly making her head bob back and forth on his chest a bit.

"I love you." He said letting her go so she could turn around so he could wash her hair.

"I love you too, that's why I'm doing this." Clarine said. "Now about my hair." So Rutger washed her hair the same way she did his. It actually took about the same time it usually took him to wash his own hair since her's was about the same length. When he was done he rested his head on her shoulder and took a whiff of the shampoo.

"You smell nice." He whispered with his deep voice and it gave Clarine shivers. "How about I wash the rest of your body now?" All Clarine could do was nod her head in agreement since she was so turned on by his sudden confidence. So Rutger searched around the tub and came up with a bar of soap and a sponge and lathered it up and began to wash her back. There was more silence while he did, but it was better this time. Eventually Rutger was done with her back but before he could move to her front Clarine spoke up.

"Why don't you just use your hands?" She suggested to him softly. "I mean I'm sure they have enough soap on them."

"Alright." Rutger said with a slight chuckle before he brought her body closer to his so her back was against his chest. "Hope you don't mind, but I think this gives me better reach." He was remembering some of the tips his parents had told him about these situations and the one they both told him was to have fun.

"You just want to feel my soft skin on your chest." Clarine joked back as she wiggled back and forth to prove her point.

"Guilty as charged." Rutger admitted before placing his soapy hands on her stomach and starting to rub them on her body. "You want me to go up or down first?"

"Up seems like the best decision." Clarine answered and he slowly moved his hands up to her breasts and started massaging them slowly. It was the first time that anyone had done this to them so she let out a soft moan when his fingers crossed over her nipples. "Yeah, definitely the best decision."

"We'll see about that." Rutger said before starting to nibble kisses on the back of her neck. He heard her breathing hitch and he smiled against his kisses and started massaging her breasts a bit faster. But this wasn't just arousing her, Rutger was getting turned on as well and Clarine could feel it since his dick was rubbing agaisnt her back as well.

"You're little friend seems to be getting excited." She joked through some of her heavy breaths.

"He can be patient." Rutger commented. "My hands are still taking their turn to make you feel good." And with that he started to move his right hand down her body and to her thighs.

"Well, I should have figured that they would be good at this." She told him before she placed her hand on his before he could do anything else. "But I think it's my turn." It wasn't that she didn't want him to continue, but she was starting to want to get out of the bath and actually get to the good part, and that wouldn't happen until Rutger was clean.

"Okay, let's see what you can do." Rutger said turning around. Truth was he wanted to keep going, but like his father had told him once, his partner's pleasure was more important than his own. So Clarine grabbed the sponge that Rutger had used on her back and washed his quickly and efficiently. But like he did to her, she only used her hands on his chest.

"Hm, I don't remember this scar." She said tracing one of the numerous ones on his toned chest. "And I remember most of these since I was the one that healed them."

"That one I got when I was seven years old." Rutger explained. "I was trying to replicate one of my mother's more technical sword swings but I cut myself there by accident. Had to stay in bed for a week it was so bad."

"Hm, sounds like something you would do." Clarine commented. "Did you ever get it right?"

"No, I could only manage to learn the one that looks like I split into four people before she died." He answered. "But I'm still practicing, so I might need patching up if I do mess up again." He finished with a grin so the mood wouldn't get ruined.

"Well of course." Clarine said hugging him a bit closer anyways. Then a few moments later she started to move her hands lower on his body.

"Oh, so you get to do it, but I don't." Rutger said with some fake sass, but that went away the moment her hand touched his dick. He stopped mid breath and shivered enough that Clarine could feel it.

"Hm, sensitive down there are we?" She teased him as she started to rub it up and down. It had gone a bit flaccid talking about his scar, but now it was growing by the moment.

"Clarine." Was all he could think to moan since, yes, he was very sensitive down there. His brain was practically shutting down since he had rarely even thought of a woman like he was now and the pleasure was blocking out the rest of his thoughts. There was only one thing he was thinking about doing and he did it. He turned around quickly and planted a big kiss on Clarine's lips and wrapped his arms around her body as he pushed his against hers. The sudden movement surprised Clarine, but she wasn't complaining too much. But once he pulled back from the kiss she placed her finger on his lips.

"Let's take this to our bed, we don't want to end up breaking the tub." She told him. He was breathing heavily but he nodded in response before standing up and helping her up as well.

"Sorry about that, kinda lost myself there." He said before picking her up and stepping out of the tub.

"Are you kidding, that was hot. I want more of that." Clarine said kissing him on the cheek since he was holding her in a position where she could. He grinned and exited the washroom and went into the bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed and walked over to the door and locked it so no one would disturb them.

"You told Erk about this right, because I have a feeling he might hear us since he's next door." He asked as he climbed into the bed as well.

"I did, so don't worry." Clarine told him. "You should be worrying about the beautiful girl laying in your bed wanting to have sex with you."

"You're right, I should be." Rutger grinned as he positioned himself on top of her. "Are you ready, or do I need to prepare you more?"

"Maybe a tad more." Clarine said reaching up and kissing him on the lips.

"I have an idea about that then." Rutger said still grinning. Clarine wondered what he was thinking since they had accidentally left the body oils in the washroom, but when he started to move his head down her body she figured it out quickly.

"Are you suuueeeaaah?!" She couldn't finish her question before his tongue started to lick at her opening. Now she was the one with her mind blanking out because of pleasure. She reactively pulled her legs around his head, bringing it closer to her body and Rutger was grinning as much as he could in the moment. "R-Rutger!"

"Yes?" He asked in a smirking tone.

"More." Was the only word that she could get out and Rutger was perfectly fine with that. So he inched his head lower and inserted his tongue into her opening. This made her body shake even more and Rutger really didn't have to do much since that movement was making his tongue move inside her. Clarine finally got a hold of herself and was taking ragged breaths before she realized that Rutger wasn't doing anything.

"I-I'm fine, keep going." She told him, so he started to move his tongue around, licking at her insides and trying to find another spot to make her feel good. It didn't take much time though, it was her first time having something inside her like that. Her body started to shake again and Rutger could taste the bodily fluids coming out with his tougne. They were sweet and made him want to lick more fervently, which in turn made Clarine shake more and moan more. It was also keeping him hard, but he wasn't thinking about that at the moment. The cycle kept intensifying by the moment and Clarine knew that any moment she would lose herself in an orgasm and end their night for the time being. She didn't want that so she moved her hands to Rutger's head and pushed it off of her.

"I think I'm ready now." She said still breathing heavily. Rutger slowly and silently moved so he was in a position to enter her, but he didn't right away because he was a chivalrous man, especially with Clarine.

"You 100% sure?" He asked, breathing heavily as well. "Because if we start this, I don't think we'll be able to stop."

"I am. I want to be yours, and yours alone Rutger. So please, make me yours." She answered him.

"Hey, I'm going to be yours too you know." He joked softly. Clarine smiled up at him and that told him that it was okay. So he lined his body up one last time and with a gentle thrust pushed his dick into her body. Clarine gasped and held onto his body tightly. He didn't move after that for a moment, but when her grip loosened his started trusting slowly back and forth. "You okay?" He asked her.

"Y-Yes." Clarine gasped out. He hadn't quite broken though the barrier yet, but he was rubbing up against it more and more with every thrust. "Go faster, please." Rutger listened and started to trust faster. Each one was hitting the barrier inside of her and finally he burst through. "AHHHHHHHH!" She moaned out in a mix of slight pain but mostly pleasure. She once again held onto Rutger with all of her strength and also wrapped her legs around his to give him more leverage.

"Clarine." Rutger moaned out as well, her body was clamping down on him and was making everything feel tight, but very good at the same time. There were no other words to say at the moment so he locked lips with hers and kept on thrusting and finding places to pleasure her. Since it was both of their first times they were both very close to finishing by that point. Luckily, Rutger had the sense of mind still to know that he shouldn't finish inside incase it wasn't a safe day for her, so he knew that he had to get her off first. So he moved his one hand down to her clit and started rubbing it while also still trusting.

"RUTGER!" It worked and as soon as she yelled that he pulled out and finished on the bedsheets. After that there was silence, another good spell though, before Rutger rolled off of her and started to catch his breath. The two moved to faced each other when they did and Clarine spoke up first.

"Nice thinking there. I totally wasn't thinking about what my time of the month was." She told him.

"Well, I'm nothing if not curtious." Rutger joked with a grin. "So, how was it? Up to your expectations?"

"Not bad for a first time." She joked back and Rutger glared at her. "No, it was amazing. A little quicker than I thought it would be, but that's just because it's our first time. I'm sure that we'll go longer as time passes."

"I agree." Rutger said. "I don't feel like doing it again right now though."

"Me either, I am so tired. I wonder how good of a workout that is."

"Thinking of making it a regular exercise routine?" Rutger joked.

"Maybe, I need a strong partner though." Clarine joked back. "You got any openings in your schedule?"

"I think I can fit something in." Rutger answered. "So we're good, no awkwardness between us?"

"None at all. I do think I want to sleep now though, what about you?"

"Yeah, I'm bushed as well. We heading out to Bulgar tomorrow?"

"If you want to, we can take another day here if you want."

"I'll think about it." Rutger said before wrapping his arms around Clarine. "Starting to see why I like to sleep shirtless, aren't you?"

"It has it's positives." Clarine admitted. "Goodnight Rutger, I love you, even more now than ever."

"I love you too Clarine, more than I've loved anyone else before. Goodnight."

**A/n- Next chapter will probably be and interlude**


	18. Interlude- Letters

**A/n- This is basically more 'behind the scenes' plot stuff as usual.**

Buried In the Sand Interlude

_To my trusted friend and pupil Erk,_

_ I'm glad to hear that everything is going well for the three of you since you left the desert, though I will admit that us here are starting to miss you and Clarine. Your wife in particular is worrying a bit more than usual, even with your constant letters to her. I know things are a bit out of your hands, but remember what I told you about taking things easily. Anyways, onto what you asked about in your last letter. Louise and I discussed it and we'll have to meet with Rutger before we make a full decision, but if Clarine wants to stay in Caelin with him, there's nothing we can really do to stop her. Though with what you've told us, we're sure that there won't be any issues with that._

_ As for your other query, that one is a bit tougher. Both Clarine and Rutger are young and in love and you we're correct in assuming that things might happen between them. I appreciate you asking my opinion as well instead of taking it upon yourself to give her advice. But again, it's not really in our hands now is it? I would predict that if anything were to happen, Clarine would come to you for advice since you are the one she trusts the most there in Caelin. All I can tell you is, don't discourage her love it makes her a better person. Only dissuade her if it's super obvious that Rutger is taking advantage of her. Ask her these questions specifically "Are you sure about this? This is a big step you would be taking with him. What if something goes wrong in the moment and you get pregnant? Are you willing to take the heat for that back in Etruria?" I'm confident she will have thought about them, so if she answers them confidently then I'd say let her do what she wants._

_ Other than that, just stay safe and try and be back before the Royal Ball, I figure Clarine is already planning for it, so I'm sure you will and the three of you will be able to tell us all about what happened when you get here._

_Your Friend,_

_Pent_

_P.S: This is Louise, ask her if she truly loves the boy as well, because that's important as well. Thank you Erk, and we really do miss you._

* * *

_Final Report Regarding Bandit Attacks_

_Sir Sain, things are a bit more complicated than we had first thought. As you commanded, we investigated the villages you asked, and it was true that they we're attacked. But here is the bad thing, it wasn't attacked by bandits. It is my belief that they were attacked by Bern loyalists, more specifically those loyal to the former king Zephiel. Why do I think this? It's because that's what the surviving villagers told me. We we're just in time to drive off one of the groups and we gained that intelligence after a few survivors fled into the forest. At this time I am unable to guess at what their goals are or where they might strike next, but I did hear that these attacks didn't start until just a couple weeks ago. So something must have happened recently for them to become more active and violent. More intelligence will probably be needed, and I am ready and willing to go get it if you wish. My only concern is that we now have a new Marquess and that might provoke an attack on the castle. If it pleases you I would like to serve as his bodyguard for the time being. I know he's a war hero and all, but he is our future and if something we're to happen, well I shudder at the thought. But that decision is up to you and I will follow your orders whatever they may be Sir Sain. I hope to be of use in anyway I can, as my father would say. I await my next mission._

_Your Trusted Knight,_

_Sir Paul_


	19. Four is Better Than Three

Buried In the Sand Chapter 15

Rutger's eyes flitted open slowly and they caught the light that was filtering into the room. He was as relaxed as he could be, having his arms wrapped around the woman he loved after sharing a night of love together. He smiled to himself as he buried his face into her long hair and nuzzling her neck to wake her.

"Hm, is it morning already?" Clarine asked drowsily, reacting to his movements, she was very relaxed as well, even with her state of undress at the moment. "Didn't I tell you we could wait a day or so?" She joked not really wanting to leave his embrace.

"You did, if I'm recalling correctly." Rutger whispered into her ear before nibbling a few kisses on her neck. "So that gives us time to do whatever we please, if you want to that is." Clarine was about to answer him, positively of course, when the two of them heard a knock on their door.

"Shh, it's probably Erk." Clarine whispered back. "Maybe if we pretend to be still asleep he'll just leave." Rutger nodded silently and they waited a few moments, but the next time the door was knocked on a voice accompanied it.

"Milord, are you awake yet?" It was Paul, and that kinda changed Rutger's thoughts for the morning. He gave Clarine a 'sorry' look and responded.

"I am, just give me a few moments to put some clothes on." He said getting out of the bed. Then he turned to Clarine. "I won't open the door that much, but you might want to hide anyways."

"Fine." Clarine said with a pout. She was disappointed of course, but understood why he had to leave.

"Hey, we have loads of time to do whatever we want later, years if we play things right." Rutger said quickly putting on his pants and robe, but not an undershirt. "So it'll be okay." He finished dressing and placed a kiss on her forehead before she covered herself fully. He then walked to the door and cracked it enough so he could see Paul's face.

"Is now a bad time?" Paul asked seeing that he didn't have an undershirt on under his robe.

"A little bit, I just woke up." Rutger answered. "I kinda picked up my father's late sleeping habits. Do you mind meeting me in the dining hall for breakfast to discuss what you want to discuss?"

"Not at all, I was going to suggest the same thing." Paul said a bit relieved. "So say in about 10 minutes?"

"How about 15, there is someone I want you to meet, and she can take a while to get dressed." Rutger said knowing Clarine well.

"Sounds good Milord. That's not to weird for you is it?"

"We're friends, just call me Rutger."

"Understood." Paul said with a nod. And then he left to go to the dining hall. Rutger closed the door and turned to face the bed. Clarine poked her head out with another pout. "Hey, I could have said 30.

"Ha, ha, ha." Clarine said sarcastically. "You're lucky you're so handsome and well built."

"Don't forget ruggedly charming, I know that's what drew you to me." Rutger said with a grin.

"I guess that might have something to do with it." Clarine said rolling her eyes as a joke. "Though what it really was was you opening up to me, if I'm being honest."

"Well, you're a good listener, at least to me. You took an interest in me when everyone else was scared to even look at me the wrong way. That meant a lot to me back then." Rutger said becoming serious as well. "You made me feel special in a good way, instead of the way I thought I was." He was talking about looking like he was from Bern, which Clarine caught instantly. She got out of the bed and gave him a hug and he hugged her back.

"That's because you are special, especially to me. Don't ever forget that." She told him softly. "Now, about that 15 minutes. I'm sure we could cut it down to 10 if you help me pick out my outfit."

"Okay." Rutger said. "Just keep in mind that the guy I just talked to is going to be the future Knight Commander. He's a nice guy, so you know..."

"Don't go too overboard, got it." Clarine answered and then they got to work getting dressed for real this time.

"So, did you ask him yet?" Sain asked Paul as he began to eat his breakfast of oatmeal and fruit.

"Not yet, he was in a state of undress and he said he had just woken up. He suggested we talk about it here." Paul answered and Sain couldn't help but snicker a bit at his naiveness, though it wasn't his fault, Paul didn't even know Clarine was here in Caelin in the first place. "Is there something I should know Sir Sain?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Sain said with a smirk before catching Rutger and Clarine out of the corner of his eye. "Well, there he is, I'll let you to it then." And he left. Rutger and Clarine were walking kinda slowly though, they were trying to act like nothing had happened the night before so no one would ask questions, but they were acting weird.

"Good morning Paul, sorry again about the delay." Rutger said as he and Clarine sat down at the opposite side of the table. "This is who I was wanting to introduce to you." He added and then became quiet so Clarine could talk.

"Greetings, my name is Clarine Reglay." Clarine said extending her hand to the knight. Paul was a bit taken aback, this girl was very nice looking and she had an air of confidence around her, and he liked that. It moved him to be a bit bolder than he usually would be.

"It's nice to meet you Lady Clarine." He said taking her hand and placing a light kiss on it. "Where do you hail from?" Clarine was now the one to be a bit shocked. This guy was going to be the Knight Commander. Well, he had the guts for it at least.

"My parents, my brother, and I live in Etruria." She answered simply. "My father Pent was the former Mage General."

"Ah, I see. I've heard of your father before, he fought with mine in the battles against Nergal, also like Rutger's parents did." Paul said more interested in her now.

"Really, who was your father?" Clarine asked intrigued as well.

"My father was Sir Kent, the Crimson Shield of Caelin. He told me a story or two about your parents, how he was a bit jealous of their relationship together. Luckily for him, and me, he found someone he could fall in love with." Paul replied.

"Yes, I do remember my father saying a few things about him as well. Mostly that he was the textbook definition of a knight that every squire should look up to." Clarine said remembering back to when it was. "Did your mother happen to fight with them too?"

"No, my father met her after the war. She was one of the castles clerics and they met when he accidentally got poisoned one day." Paul answered a bit lowly. "She's still alive, but she hasn't been in the best mental state ever since my sister left and my father died."

"You have a sister?" Rutger said butting into the conversation.

"I do, she left because she wanted to become a knight but felt that since she was a woman she wouldn't be able to be one here. I tried to convince her to stay, but she left anyways." Paul explained. "I hope she comes back, because I know that will help our mother get back to who she used to be." Talking about siblings got Clarine to thinking about her brother and she got a slight frown on her face. "What is it Lady Clarine, are you sad because of my story. I apologize if I said something wrong."

"No, I'm just thinking of my own brother. I've been away from home a long time and I wonder if he's missing me at all." Clarine told him. "But I'm sure he is, he's a good brother." There was a slight silence where Rutger tried to take her hand to comfort her, but Paul beat him to it. He didn't think anything of it though since it was a nice thing to do.

"I'm sure he is as well Lady Clarine, especially if you're worrying as much as you are now." Paul told her.

"Thank you Sir Paul, you are very kind." Clarine told him truthfully. "I hear your going to become the Knight Commander, I'm confident you'll do a good job if your as kind to everyone. So, what was it you wanted to talk to Rutger about, it seems we've taken a bit of time away from you two."

"Oh yes, I guess I lost track of that from meeting you. You are a very interesting lady." Clarine smiled at that, she liked his personality just like Rutger did, even though she was a bit oblivious that he was a bit smitten by her since she was already in love with Rutger. "Anyways, I spoke with Sir Sain about something and he agreed with me. I offered to be your personal bodyguard and he agreed with me. But it's up to you to decide really, you are the Marquess after all.

"Bodyguard hm?" Rutger asked as he thought it over. "You're not going to go overboard with it are you? No invasions of my privacy or anything like that?"

"None at all. Beleive me, I've heard the stories of guards like that, I don't want to be like that. I want to be more like a trusted retainer that helps you out when you need it." Paul explained.

"Would you be willing to be Clarine's guard as well?" Rutger asked. "And if I told you to protect her over me would you do it?" This was a hard question for Paul to answer, so it took him a few moments to answer.

"I would be her guard if you asked me to be. But you need to be more specific with your second question, what kind of situation are we talking about?" Rutger smiled, because that's what he wanted to hear, knowing that Paul would know to make a decision based on the situation at hand.

"You'll know when the time comes." Rutger said a bit coyly. "But okay, you can travel with us if you feel it needed. We're heading for Bulgar tomorrow, so you might want to get ready for that."

"Oh, and you might want to tell my escort Erk that you'll be traveling with us, he prefers not to be surprised by things." Clarine added. "You can't miss him, short, has purple hair, in his 40's"

"I will be sure to introduce myself to him as soon as I can." Paul said. "Actually, I think I'll go do that now, I hope to serve you two well." And with that he left the table as well. When he was out of earshot Rutger spoke up again.

"So, what do you think of him?" He asked Clarine.

"He's nice. That kiss on my hand felt a bit weirder than usual, but I think that just might be because of our relationship. I've had other knights do that before and not felt weird about it. Do you know if he's a good fighter, he should be if he's going to be a bodyguard."

"Not sure yet, I was going to spar with him sometime to see. Maybe tomorrow when we set up camp I'll see if I can." Rutger answered. "Now, what would you like to eat for breakfast, I'm sure the cooks here can make whatever you'd like."

**A/n- Something I've been wondering is this, does Rutger's character development make sense, a lot of this stuff is personal headcanon to me, but I'd like to know what other people think about it.**


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